Lehigh Acres couple accused of illegally dumping more than 2,700 pounds of debris

The Lee County Sheriff's Office arrested a Lehigh Acres couple after they were accused of illegally dumping more than a ton of household debris. What started as a routine inspection led to a major discovery along Sparta Avenue in Lehigh Acres. On Feb. 5, deputies responded to Sparta Avenue after Lee County Solid Waste found a large pile of illegally dumped debris. Pictures show a mountain of furniture, mattresses, bed frames, and couches. The pile weighed more than 2,700 pounds. "It's a lot of undeveloped land, a ton of hiding spots. You have good people and bad people out there, and you have people that are just lazy, trying to get away with things like this," said Lehigh Acres resident Shane Newson. Deputies searched through the pile and found a box with a Naples address. That clue led investigators to contact the Naples property owner, who said they hired a company to clean out a unit. Detectives then spoke with the company, which said they had subcontracted the work to Angelia Diaz and Andy Serrano Beltran. Deputies used license plate readers to find Serrano's car, traveling to and from Naples on Feb. 4 while pulling a loaded trailer reportedly with debris consistent with the material found at the dump site. Deputies arrested the couple Thursday morning on outstanding warrants for felony littering. "That is completely fair. If you don't want to do the time, don't do the crime," said Newson. Now, the fight against illegal dumping continues in Lehigh Acres. The sheriff says identifying those responsible remains a challenge. "Sometimes when people see an area where they dump, then everyone just thinks it's okay to pull up and dump in that area. So we use surveillance," said Lee County Sheriff Carmine Marceno. The dump site was only 1.6 miles from Diaz and Serrano's home. Both are facing felony charges. "I take pride in keeping Lee County beautiful, and I will not tolerate anyone treating our community like a landfill," said Marceno. DOWNLOAD the free Gulf Coast News app for your latest news and alerts on breaking news, weather, sports, entertainment, and more on your phone or tablet. And check out the Very Local Gulf Coast app to stream news, entertainment and original programming on your TV.