Two Akron Men, Junk Removal Company Indicted in Copley Township Illegal Dumping Case

Two Akron men and a local junk-removal business have been indicted following an investigation into illegal dumping on vacant properties in Copley Township.

Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost announced that a Summit County grand jury returned indictments against 47-year-old DeShawn Dixon, 34-year-old Zachary Dupert, and SOS Junk Removal.

According to prosecutors, the defendants allegedly dumped solid waste on two vacant lots owned by Dixon. The properties are located near homes, playgrounds and wetlands and have been the site of multiple open-burning incidents that required responses from local fire departments in recent years.

Investigators say the case gained momentum after Copley Township used funding from the Ohio Attorney General’s “Shine a Light on Dumpers” program to install surveillance cameras near the properties. Authorities say the cameras captured SOS Junk Removal trucks entering the lots with loads of debris and leaving empty on multiple occasions.

During a search warrant executed earlier this year, investigators reportedly discovered household garbage, furniture, carpeting, construction debris and burned materials buried on the properties.

Dixon faces charges including open burning and dumping of solid waste, operating a solid waste facility without a license, illegal disposal of construction and demolition debris, and tampering with evidence.

Dupert and SOS Junk Removal are each charged with open dumping of solid waste and illegal disposal of construction and demolition debris.

“We have shined a light on this dumper,” Yost said in a statement. “Taking a shortcut to get rid of your waste is not acceptable.”

The Ohio Attorney General’s Environmental Enforcement Section is prosecuting the case in Summit County Common Pleas Court.

As with all criminal cases, the charges are allegations, and the defendants are presumed innocent unless proven guilty in court.