Kevin McGill, a sanitation worker in the upscale Atlanta suburb, Sandy Springs, has been sentenced to jail time for running his route too early. You read that correctly, jail.
Sandy Springs prosecutor Bill Riley says McGill violated a city ordinance which limits refuse collection between the hours of 7 a.m. and 7 p.m. McGill had only been working for Waste Management Inc. for a matter of months, and claims that this was his first offense when he was cited for running his collection route just after 5 a.m.
When McGill arrived in court to answer the citation, Riley insisted that McGill receive the maximum penalty of 30 days in jail. Riley stated:
Fines don’t seem to work. The only thing that seems to stop the activity is actually going to jail.
Riley is unapologetic for jailing sanitation workers, and has done so in the past. The prosecutor claims that “911 lights up when trash haulers come before 7 a.m.” So we have sanitation workers doing jail time for collecting trash early, but all of those affluent Sandy Springs residents who are flagrantly abusing the 911 system receive vindication on top of no punishment. This makes perfect sense.
When McGill and a Waste Management representative arrived in court, they expected to receive a $1000 fine. McGill did not have an attorney present, and entered a guilty plea to the citation.
McGill has never been in trouble with the law before this incident; in fact, this is his first time even appearing in court. The judge, however, showed no leniency on McGill for his first offense and sentenced him to 30 days in jail, originally to be served consecutively, until someone in court stated that he should still work to collect Sandy Springs’ trash. The sentence was changed to 30 days in jail on the weekends, starting on his 48th birthday.
McGill stated:
“The solicitor said it’s automatic jail time. He didn’t want to hear nothing I had to say. I said it’s my first time. I was stunned. I didn’t know what to think. I was shocked.
McGill has since sought out an attorney, Kimberly Bandoh, who stated:
Give him a warning. I mean he’s the employee. He’s not the employer. Sentencing him to jail is doing what?
Riley was quick to point the blame directly at McGill, rather than Waste Management Inc:
The company doesn’t start that truck up. The company doesn’t drive that truck down the street.
McGill’s attorney has filed a motion to withdraw his guilty plea.
Watch the video below:
H/T: Wspa.com | Image: Screen Capture
