Crackdown means jail time for litter bugs

LA MARQUE — Litter bugs beware. The next time you toss a cigarette butt, piece of paper or soda can, make sure it doesn’t end up on the ground in La Marque or you will go to jail.

Police Chief Randall Aragon and the Clean City Commission last week announced a litter bug crackdown that will start next week. Aragon promises anyone caught littering will go to jail and will have to pay a hefty fine.

“We’ve tried being nice,” Michael Duhon, the chairman of the Clean City Commission, said. “It’s looking better, but there are people who dump all sorts of stuff. Someone dumped a used diaper on the road in front of my house.

“Two things motivate people. Pain and money.”

Usually, a person caught littering would be issues a Class C misdemeanor citation. Starting Aug. 1, police officers who see people littering will be instructed to arrest that person and book him or her in the city jail before being released with a misdemeanor citation.

If the person is convicted on the littering charge, he or she would face a fine up to $297, Duhon said.

Aragon said the zero tolerance littering crackdown is part of his overall community policing effort.

“Preventing and controlling crime and reducing fear of crime starts with the community being free of litter and having the residential areas being taken care of by their residents.” Aragon said.

The police department also plans to beef up patrols and issue a mandate to officers to be on the look out for litter bugs.

Chances are good anyone arrested for littering will cry foul that they were put in jail for a minor infraction.

“I don’t really care,” Duhon said. “Overall, it’s for the good of the city. I don’t know if it has ever been enforced here. We need to wake people up about the problem we have.”

How extensive the problem is can’t be measured exactly. Duhon’s committee focuses on cleanup efforts and doesn’t have any updated statistics of how much litter is picked up or estimated to be in the city.

He did say when volunteers tackle specific lots in the city that have become dumping sites, more than 25 large bags of trash usually are collected.