A Sterling Heights man who operates a carpet cleaning company was charged with a blight violation for allegedly illegally dumping toxic fluids in Detroit's North End neighborhood.
In early August, Jerry Hebron, a North End resident and owner of the Oakland Avenue Urban Farm, watched a man from Mystic Touch Carpet Cleaning dumping liquid on a street that borders her farm.
Hebron told us us she watched the man's white van turn onto Cameron Street and stop. The man got out and started dumping a liquid on the street's edge.
When Metro Times contacted Mystic Touch owner Robert Stephanowski and asked if he dumped liquid in the neighborhood, he responded, "I tried going to the most run down neighborhood I could find. It just so happens they were worried about the neighborhood. But everything was pet and baby safe — it's nothing harmful ... it's just like washing your car."
However, a Detroit Police Department investigation found otherwise, and last week Stephanowski was hit with a $5,000 blight violation, his van was impounded, and warrant for his arrest was issued.
Lieutenant Rebecca Mckay told WJBK Fox 2 that Stephanowski is showing little remorse.
"He honestly doesn't think what he was doing was wrong, " she said.
DPD announced late last year that it's cracking down on people who illegally dump in the city, which is a common problem.
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