POLK COUNTY, Fla. – A Saturday afternoon in rural Polk County turned into an investigation after a local witness caught two men allegedly unloading a massive haul of debris near Lake Wales. The incident, which took place on March 14th, led to felony charges for two Jacksonville men who reportedly attempted to flee the scene when they realized they were being photographed.
The situation began when a witness spotted two men actively discarding waste in a secluded area. According to the Polk County Sheriff’s Office, the witness pulled out a phone to document the activity, but the suspects noticed the camera and began to chase him. The witness managed to retreat safely and immediately contacted law enforcement to report the location.
When a deputy arrived on the scene, he found the two men still present alongside a Dodge pickup truck and a trailer. Directly behind the trailer sat a mountain of discarded materials. Investigators identified the men as 21-year-old Austin Davidson and 38-year-old David Souza, both of Jacksonville.
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The suspects offered a specific defense for the mess. One of the men told the deputy that their truck had become stuck in the woods, claiming they only dumped the debris to lighten the vehicle’s load so they could pull it free.
However, the responding deputy noted in his report that the truck was not stuck when he arrived, nor was there any physical evidence in the dirt or surrounding terrain to suggest the vehicle had ever been bogged down.
Crime scene measurements revealed the scale of the dump site to be 1,260 cubic feet. Due to the volume of the waste, the charges were elevated beyond simple littering.
Both Davidson and Souza were arrested by the Polk County Sheriff’s Office and transported to jail, where they each face a charge of felony illegal dumping.
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