Woman found guilty in recycling dispute
|
|
Singer/songwriter Jessica Shepherd says she was
inspired to write the melody for one of the tunes on her latest album
while traveling on a train through Italy.
The 41-year-old Texas country singer can now add the City of New Braunfels to her list of inspirations for songs.
Since
August of 2006, the red-headed musician has been embroiled in a beef
with the city over a pile of recyclables. Shepherd claims the city
neglected to pick up recyclables left in her front yard over a
seven-month span, despite paying a $5.25 monthly fee to the city for
recycling collection.
From November of 2005 to May of 2006,
Shepherd said she made 37 phone calls to the city about the matter and
had her recyclables picked up once around February. So when the paper,
plastic and glass in her recycling bin grew into a heap weighing more
than 20 pounds over the next three months, she decided to act by
“returning the recyclables,” to the city.
“Finally after all the attempts I decided to protest,” she said.
Her
“protest” took the form of a mass dumping on the city. On the morning
of Aug. 24, 2006, Shepherd gathered the recyclables that had
accumulated in her front yard since about March and dumped them in
front of City Hall — all 22 pounds of them. Shepherd also left a letter
taped to the door with a message for the city: “Do your job!!”
On
Thursday, a Comal County jury found Shepherd guilty of illegally
dumping her recyclables in an area not approved for solid waste
disposal. She was sentenced to pay a $250 fine for the class B
misdemeanor. Shepherd was facing up to 180 days in jail and a $2,000
fine for leaving her uncollected “trash heap” in front of City Hall,
said Assistant District Attorney Steve deLemos.
She will also
have to pay about $350 in court fees. In all, Shepherd will have spent
nearly $1,600 on attorney’s, court fees and fines for extracting
revenge against the city for what she says were services never
rendered. Prior to the verdict being handed down, Shepherd said she
stood by her decision and would do it again. Asked if her actions were
worth the $1,600, the musician changed her tune.
“I’m undecided on that at the moment,” Shepherd said. “I still don’t think I did anything wrong.”
Police
discovered the 22-pound pile of paper, plastic bottles and empty water
jugs in front of City Hall around 4 a.m., on Aug. 24. Police tracked
the dumping to Shepherd by locating letters in the heap that had her
address on them.
“I wanted them to find me, so they would rectify the cause,” she said.
City
police originally cited Shepherd for littering, a class C misdemeanor.
That charge was eventually dismissed in municipal court and a new,
heftier, charge replaced it. Three months after citing Shepherd for
littering, police charged her with illegal dumping, a class B
misdemeanor. The case was forwarded to the Comal County District
Attorney’s office, which decided to pursue criminal charges against
Shepherd.
She said she is considering an appeal to Thursday’s decision and might also file a suit against the city.
During
closing arguments Thursday, Shepherd’s lawyer, Steve Smith, asked
jurors not to “brand Shepherd as a criminal for returning recyclables.”
Smith said
“That’s hogwash ladies and gentleman,” deLemos said. “That is not the action of someone solely returning recyclables.”
County
Court at Law judge Charles Stephens did not allow Shepherd’s lawyer to
enter evidence into the trial that he said showed call logs and the
city’s noncompliance. Thursday’s trial did not seek to establish the
city’s alleged negligence in collecting recyclables. The only issue
before the jury was whether Shepherd had dumped her pile of garbage in
front of City Hall. State law defines illegal dumping as disposing
solid waste that weighs more than five pounds but less than 500 pounds
in an area not approved for said dumping.
“She’s exactly the type of person this law is designed to address,” deLemos said.
In
the courtroom Thursday, an evidence bag full of the recyclables sat
behind the witness stand. It stood more than two feet tall.
“She choose to do it because she was angry,” deLemos said.
Shepherd,
whose Myspace.Com page features a photo of the “Texas-reared red head”
pointing a guitar like a rifle, has penned songs for several
compilation and solo albums. One of her songs even reached the top 30
charts in Australia, according to her personal Web site.
Now
Shepherd intends to write a song about her ordeal with the city and
feature it on her next album. The song, Shepherd said, is still in the
“baby stages,” but she is planning on writing and recording it this
month.
“It’s going to be pretty much about protesting and the absurdity of the city,” Shepherd said.
