WICOMICO MAN CONVICTED FOR ILLEGAL TIRE DUMPING

Attorney General J. Joseph Curran, Jr. announced today the conviction today of a Wicomico County man, Shawn Torrell Wharton, 27, for illegal disposal of scrap tires. Mr. Wharton pled guilty before Wicomico County District Court Judge Scott Davis, who sentenced Wharton to 30 days in prison.

The maximum penalty for each offense is 30 days in prison and/or a $1,000 fine.

Mr. Wharton rented four storage units at the Airport Self Storage facility at 31655 Mount Hermon Road, Salisbury, in May 2002. He defaulted on his rental payments in June, leaving a total of more than 1,500 scrap tires inside. Mr. Wharton is not licensed to haul scrap tires. By law, scrap tires must be transported by licensed haulers and disposed of at approved facilities.

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