A sprawling Redland property is at the center of a messy criminal case after deputies say raw sewage was leaking into the groundwater and into on-site drinking water, landing a 53-year-old man in jail on an environmental felony charge.
Investigators allege the five-acre lot was not hooked up to the county sewer system and had no permitted septic system in place. Test samples taken from the property reportedly turned up raw sewage along with total coliform and E. coli in water used for drinking. The man arrested was booked into Turner Guilford Knight Correctional Center and is now facing a third-degree felony count of willful disregard for the environment.
What Deputies Say They Found
According to Local 10, deputies arrested Orlando Suarez around 2:15 p.m. at 19201 SW 180 St. in the rural Redland area of Miami-Dade County. The arrest report describes a mechanical area for commercial motor vehicles and six recreational vehicles used as living spaces, with makeshift piping strung together as a sewer line running throughout the property. Deputies also reported seeing several burn barrels that appeared to be used for trash disposal.
Corrections records cited in the report show Suarez was later booked at Turner Guilford Knight Correctional Center. Court documents list his bond at $2,500, with Miami-Dade County Circuit Judge Michelle Ashby Delancy assigned as the presiding judge on the case.
Health Risks to Neighbors
The presence of total coliform or E. coli in drinking water is more than just unpleasant. It usually signals fecal contamination and a possible pathway for illness, including diarrhea and other gastrointestinal infections.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention advises private well owners to test their water at least once a year and notes that any positive E. coli result calls for immediate corrective action. In the Redland area, concerns like these are not hypothetical. In previous investigations, CBS News Miami reported on residents who said their well samples showed E. coli and who described illnesses they believed were tied to nearby illegal RV setups.
Charges and Legal Stakes
According to Local 10, Suarez faces a third-degree felony charge of willful disregard for the environment, with bond set at $2,500. Under Florida law, a third-degree felony can carry up to five years in prison along with fines authorized by state sentencing statutes. Specific environmental laws and county civil penalties can increase the potential financial hit if violations are proven.
The case is listed for initial proceedings in Miami-Dade Circuit Court under Judge Michelle Ashby Delancy, where prosecutors will decide how aggressively to pursue the environmental allegations.
County Oversight and Next Steps
Miami-Dade County rules require permitted on-site sewage systems or other approved arrangements for properties that rely on wells and septic setups. The county’s Environmental Quality Control Board handles variance requests, enforcement cases and remediation orders when contamination is suspected.
Miami-Dade County maintains permitting and testing requirements that give staff the authority to force cleanup or other corrective work when groundwater is at risk.
The allegations against Suarez are the latest in a series of enforcement actions in the Redland area involving illegal RV hookups and sewage leaks that officials say threaten local wells and nearby farms. Suarez has been booked, the charge is filed, and the case now moves through the county’s criminal process, where court records and official filings will show whether prosecutors seek any additional charges or penalties.
