PRINCE GEORGE’S COUNTY MAN CONVICTED FOR DUMPING LARGE QUANTITIES OF SOLID WASTE IN CHARLES COUNTY

Maryland Attorney General J. Joseph Curran, Jr. announced today that a demolition contractor from Prince George’s County has been convicted of illegal dumping by a jury in the Circuit Court for Charles County. Forrest S. Holt, 41, of the 5900 block of Middleton Lane, Camp Springs, Maryland was convicted of three related dumping counts. The convictions result from Holt directing his drivers to truck construction and demolition debris from his commercial yard on Eads Street in Seat Pleasant to a property on Masons Crossing Road in Waldorf where it was dumped in April and May of 2005.

Judge Amy J. Bragunier, who presided over the two-day jury trial, set sentencing for June 21, 2006. The maximum possible sentence Holt faces is up to five years in jail and/or a fine of $30,000. The two owners of the land have also been charged for allowing the dumping to occur. Their cases are still pending in the Circuit Court for Charles County.

This conviction follows a joint investigation conducted by the Environmental Crimes Unit of the Office of the Attorney General and the Maryland State Police with the assistance of the Maryland Department of the Environment, Solid Waste Division.