Feb 10, 2016
Baton Rouge - On Friday, Feb. 5, deputies from the Avoyelles Parish Sheriff’s Office arrested an Avoyelles Parish man for the alleged illegal disposal waste tires in connection with a Louisiana Department of Environmental Quality criminal investigation.
Over the past several months, investigators with the Louisiana Department of Environmental Quality Criminal Investigation Division have been conducting a criminal investigation regarding the illegal tire disposal. Investigators with LDEQ-CID obtained two arrest warrants for Daniel Lachney, 52, of Marksville for both Avoyelles and Pointe Coupee Parishes. Lachney was arrested in Avoyelles Parish in Oct. 2015 for the Avoyelles warrant. In Sept. 2014, Lachney began renting a house owned by Ricky Guillory located at 144 Humphrey’s Loop in Hessmer. During the time that he was renting from Guillory, Lachney is alleged to have abandoned and illegally disposed of more than 2,000 waste tires on Guillory’s property.
On Friday, Lachney was arrested by deputies from Avoyelles Parish and transported to Pointe Coupee Parish where he was booked for a second time on identical charges regarding the Pointe Coupee warrant. In Aug. 2014, Lachney is alleged to have abandoned and illegally disposed of 622 waste tires on property owned by Joseph Barr located at 648 Bowman Road in Lettsworth.
“Skirting environmental laws in order to blatantly pollute our environment will not be tolerated,” said Chuck Carr Brown, DEQ Secretary. “Such acts directly affect human health and we call upon everyone to be a watchdog and report any illegal activity to local authorities and to DEQ as soon as possible. DEQ will continue to work closely with its local, state and federal law enforcement partners to ensure that anyone found to be conducting illegal waste disposal operations will be investigated and prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.”
If convicted in either parish for the knowing illegal disposal of waste tires, Lachney faces possible imprisonment for not more than 1 year, or a fine of not more than $25,000, or both.
The mission of the Louisiana Department of Environmental Quality is to protect the environment and public health. Any persons with knowledge of any spills, releases, odors, fish kills, open burning, waste tires and any other types of environmental incidents may contact the department at 225-219-3640 or Toll Free 1-888-763- 5424.
An arrest does not constitute guilt in a criminal case and all subjects are presumed innocent. All evidence compiled during the investigation is presented to the area prosecutors who determine if formal charges are warranted.