Baltimore County Man Pleads Guilty to Illegal Discharge

BALTIMORE, MD ( December 18, 2009) - Attorney General Douglas F. Gansler announced today that Justin Robert Pettie, 21, of 6908 German Hill Road in Baltimore pled guilty in the District Court of Maryland for Baltimore County to illegally discharging a pollutant into State waters. The offense is a misdemeanor in violation of the State’s water pollution control laws. Judge Jan M. Alexander ordered probation before judgment, imposed a fine of $142.50 plus court costs and placed Pettie on probation for six months.

The charge resulted from Pettie discharging carpet cleaning wastewater into a storm drain on Westland Boulevard in Arbutus. The discharge was observed and reported to the Baltimore County Department of Environmental Protection and Resource Management by a concerned citizen who was able to photograph the commercial van with his cell phone.

The case was investigated by the Environmental Crimes Unit of the Office of the Attorney General. In making today’s announcement, Attorney General Gansler thanked Assistant Attorney General Jay Robinson for his work on the case.