Man arrested in connection with illegal dumping

A Socorro man was arrested this morning after the El Paso County Sheriff found an illegal dumping site. They claim he used his neighbor’s yard to dump up to one-thousand pounds of solid waste.

“In El Paso County unfortunately illegal dumping is a problem,” said County Attorney Criminal Division Chief Ralph Girvin.

Villanueva was arrested Friday morning, charged with two counts of illegal dumping. It’s a misdemeanor that could put him behind bars for a year and stick him with a hetfy $4,000 fine.

“If the county would do something about it it would be nice,” said Victor Delgado, a neighbor.

Delgado lives right across from Villanueva’s alleged dumping site. he tells me he’s willing to put up with illegal dumping in the county because he has to.

“They’re going to be doing it to find somewhere to take their stuff instead of the landfill, of course,” Delgado said.

“It is unfortunate situation that not only causes lots of money tax dollars for the clean up but it also causes an environmental risk to the individuals who live in the areas,” Girvin said.

County Attorney Joanne Bernal says they are actively enforcing the law and will arrest anyone caught in violation. Here is a list of legal places to dump garbage:

Northeast: 4501 Hondo Pass
Westside: 121 Atlantic at Doniphan
Central: 2492 Harrison at Alabama
South: 4200 Delta
Lower Valley 9000 Escobar at Zaragoza