Colorado man jailed after dumping more than FOUR TONS of litter in Uncompahgre National Forest

[bluedigger]

A Colorado man has been jailed for six months for dumping more than four tons of litter in a scenic national forest which took dozens of volunteers and a helicopter to clean up.

Benjamin Yoho, 41, lived and maintained a structure in Uncompahgre National Forest, north of the mountain town of Telluride, Colorado, for seven months.

From October last year, he was responsible for the 'massive littering' of an area near the Jud Wiebe Trail, a popular hiking spot, according to prosecutors.

In a statement, U.S. Attorney John Walsh said it required 48 volunteers and 'numerous' fire prevention and control workers to airlift it all out of the forest in May.

Yoho was sentenced to six months in federal prison for dumping 4.25 tons of litter, which included items taken from a so-called 'Free Box' in Telluride where residents recycle clothing and household goods.

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3241245/Colorado-man-jailed-dumping-FOUR-TONNES-litter-scenic-national-forest-lives-needed-48-volunteers-helicopter-clean-up.html#ixzz3mI6IluAQ
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Photos at link.

I'm not sure what to say. What do you do with an otherwise harmless person who can't be trusted to live on their own?

[HassleCat]

1. Doesn't belong in jail

He needs to be in some kind of supervised living situation. On the positive side, the federal prison system is pretty good at teaching living skills, job skills, etc. to the inmates who are not there for violent crimes. I'm not sure this guy is trainable, but maybe they can do something for him.

[bluedigger]

2. Long term, I agree.

Six months may give them time to evaluate him and come up with some sort of treatment plan. There isn't much room in our social structure between involuntary commitment and incarceration, where this case seems to be.

[Erich Bloodaxe BSN]

3. Doesn't belong in a national forest either.

They need to find a way to move him someplace that already has its own regular trash pickup.

[HassleCat]

4. This used to be very common

Many of the people where I lived considered the forest as an extension of their property. It was common to see a pickup truck enter the forest full of trash, and exit the forest full of firewood.

[murielm99]

5. Maybe he had a hoarding issue.

I don't know what to do with people like this.