PUNTA GORDA — Charlotte County Sheriff’s detectives used a trail camera recording and license plate readers to track down a man they charged with felony dumping on private property, reports shows.
Christopher Stephen Chase
CCSO
Christopher Chase, 63, of 417 Cooper St., was arrested this week on the charges, reports show.
Charlotte County Detective Philip Traniello often investigates illegal dumping incidents for the Charlotte County Sheriff’s Office.
Traniello set up a trail camera on property on Taylor Road, just south of Airport Road in Punta Gorda, with permission from the property owner, reports show.
When Traniello recently checked the property, he found “a large pile of waste lot clearing debris consisting of palmetto bushes, roots and dirt,” his report states.
The 4-foot tall pile measured 16 by 8 feet, the detective reported. The total of 512 cubic feet constitutes a felony amount of debris, he reported.
Traniello reviewed the trail camera footage and saw a Dodge pickup with a trailer dump a load of debris on the property on June 27, he reported.
The detective checked with CCSO’s Intelligence Unit and learned that license plate readers showed a truck fitting that description and registered to Chase had been in the area around that time, the report shows.
Traniello spoke to Chase at his home, and Chase admitted he dumped the materials, according to the report.
He arrested Chase on July 27 for violating the felony litter law, booked him into the Charlotte County Jail on $2,500 bond, records show. Chase bonded out the following day.