MEMPHIS, Tennessee – Memphis police arrested two people in an illegal tire dumping investigation along E. Levi Road and found two more dumping sites holding thousands of used tires, the Memphis Police Department said.
Officers charged 25-year-old Danielle McGhee and 26-year-old Joshua Gholson. Detectives are still looking for a third suspect.
How the investigation unfolded
On Tuesday, October 20, the department’s Real Time Crime Center and City of Memphis Environmental Enforcement reviewed camera footage from the 300 block of E. Levi Road. The video showed two men and a woman using a U-Haul box truck to dump about 150 tires at the site on September 28 and October 1.
The Real Time Crime Center passed its findings to the Raines Station General Investigation Bureau, which opened an investigation.
On Thursday, October 22, the center alerted the Raines Station Task Force that the U-Haul was near Bellevue Boulevard and Lamar Avenue. Officers found the truck in the 1200 block of S. Bellevue Boulevard. They detained Gholson, the driver, and McGhee, a passenger, without incident.
Suspects confessed, police say
Raines Station investigators questioned both suspects. Police said each confessed to dumping tires along E. Levi Road.
Investigators also learned that four local tire shops were allegedly paying Gholson to get rid of their used tires, according to police.
That lead took investigators to two more dumping locations, one near Tully Street and Holmes Road and another near Millbranch Road and Lochern Drive. Police said both held thousands of used tires.
Detectives are working to identify the third suspect. They are also trying to determine how involved the businesses were in the illegal dumping operation.
Charges
- Danielle McGhee, 25: three counts of felony aggravated criminal littering and three counts of felony vandalism ($2,500 to $10,000).
- Joshua Gholson, 26: five counts of felony aggravated criminal littering.
Charges are accusations. Both defendants are presumed innocent unless a court finds otherwise.
The department said illegal dumping affects entire neighborhoods and creates environmental and public safety concerns. Police said keeping Memphis clean remains a priority under Mayor Paul Young and Chief Davis, and that those who take part in illegal dumping should expect consequences.
Anyone with information about illegal dumping or the people responsible can call Crime Stoppers at 901-528-CASH.
Case number: 2610026951ME.
