Estimated read time: 2-3 minutes
- Unified police arrested a Utah man as part of an illegal tire dumping investigation.
- More than 10,000 tires have been dumped around Salt Lake County recently, police say.
- The suspect allegedly admitted to dumping tires near the old Cottonwood Mall but denied doing it at other locations.
HOLLADAY — Unified police have arrested a Utah man in connection with an investigation into more than 10,000 tires being illegally dumped around Salt Lake County.
Ivan Luna-Cruz, 30, was booked into the Salt Lake County Jail early Thursday for investigation of causing more than $5,000 in property damage and three counts of destructive littering.
On Dec. 5, hundreds of waste tires were found dumped in a field near the demolished Cottonwood Mall at 1920 E Rodeo Walk Drive.
"The responding officer estimated the number of tires to be in the high hundreds," a police booking affidavit states.
The next day, another large load of tires was found dumped at the same location.
Officers met with the manager of the company that handles the majority of tire recycling in Salt Lake County and were advised that "two additional large piles of tires had been reported to them. One near the Salt Lake County waste facility at 2100 South and 6220 West and another near 345 S. Orange Street in Salt Lake City," the affidavit states.
Police went to both locations and found "thousands of waste tires dumped." An estimated 6,300 tires were dumped near the landfill location alone. In total, an estimated 10,300 tires were found dumped at the four locations, police said.
The tires dumped near 2100 South and 6220 West are of particular concern because it is a wetlands area of the Great Salt Lake "and home to numerous species of birds and animals. The tires are considered a pollutant that significantly damages the environment. All of the properties the tires have been dumped on resulted in significantly defacing the property," according to the arrest report.
Investigators also noted that the tires had "the same distinct handwritten markings" on them. They tracked down a tire shop owner linked to some of the discarded tires. That owner told police that he had recently hired a new company to collect his used tires and take them to a company that recycles tires.
"The tire shop owner had paid in excess of $1,000 under the impression the tires were being brought to (the company) and recycled," according to the affidavit.
Luna-Cruz was identified as one of the people working for the tire pickup service, the affidavit states. On Dec. 12, police set out "bait tires" to be picked up and then kept surveillance as a man in a box truck and a second man in a personal vehicle picked them up.
"Later on Dec. 12, the same U-Haul was seen dumping the bait tires at 1920 E. Rodeo Walk Drive," the affidavit says.
Police stopped the truck and found Luna-Cruz was the driver and lone occupant.
Additional bait tires were picked up on Dec. 13, according to police. Investigators kept surveillance on those tires and the people who were driving the U-Haul truck and the cars following it.
After Luna-Cruz was arrested, he admitted dumping tires near Cottonwood Mall but not the other locations, the affidavit alleges.
