BIG PINE KEY, Fla. – A pair of South Florida men are facing felony charges in the Florida Keys after dumping a large container filled with “liquid hazardous waste and oil” right onto the street, deputies said.
According to the Monroe County Sheriff’s Office, deputies arrested Jorge Alejandro Newbery, 62, of Big Pine Key, and Maikel Ramos Jimenez, 36, of Hialeah, on Thursday.
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They’re accused of making the disgusting dump on a graveled portion of Pine Avenue on Big Pine Key.
Authorities said they began investigating after county public works crews notified the sheriff’s office.
“Further investigation showed the men left the scene after the container fell from a box truck,” MCSO spokesperson Adam Linhardt said Thursday evening.
The gravel, authorities said, “was excavated due to the possibility of the waste reaching the water table.”
“The initial clean-up weight of all the material was more than 30,000 pounds,” Linhardt said.
The road, he said, remained closed until officials made further repairs.
“The Florida Keys is a fragile ecosystem and we all have to work together to keep our community beautiful,” Monroe County Sheriff Rick Ramsay said in a news release. “This case was a great example of our citizens seeing, reporting, and having a direct role in our ability to solve a crime.”
Deputies also notified state and federal environmental protection agencies, Linhardt said.
According to jail records, Newbery and Ramos Jimenez are each facing three felony charges related to illegal dumping and pollution.
They were being jailed without bond in MCSO’s Key West facility as of Friday morning, records show.