Police arrested two men after they allegedly used a rented U-Haul truck to dump between 200 and 350 tires in a parking lot behind SEPTA’s North Philadelphia station, on the 1400 block of West Indiana Avenue. Charles Arttaway, 52, of Philadelphia, and Paul Gamble, 68, of Darby, now face a slate of criminal charges stemming from the incident.
Officials said they intervened and arrested the pair at the scene, according to NBC10 Philadelphia. Police estimated between 200 and 350 tires were illegally dumped in the incident, which unfolded in the lot behind the train station. As FOX 29 Philadelphia reports, the tires were found dumped from the U-Haul at the North Philadelphia station.
Investigators told 6ABC that Gamble was the one who rented and was driving the U-Haul, while Arttaway allegedly handled unloading the tires. Both men are being charged with criminal mischief, criminal conspiracy and scattering rubbish, the station reported.
Police Probe Possible Second Dumping Site
The arrests may not close the book on this particular truck. Police are investigating whether the same U-Haul truck may have been used in a separate illegal dumping incident, per the same NBC10 account. A lieutenant with the department’s Neighborhood Services Unit said investigators have been dealing with multiple tire dumping incidents in recent weeks, suggesting this was not an isolated event.
The financial exposure for illegal dumping in Philadelphia is steep. Illegal tire dumping can carry fines of $5,000 per tire, the outlet noted. City officials have said people who illegally dump using a vehicle face a $5,000-per-item penalty, while dumping without a vehicle carries a $2,000-per-item penalty, in addition to possible criminal and civil prosecution, according to 6ABC.
A Citywide Pattern of Dumped Tires
This North Philadelphia case fits into a broader surge of tire dumping across the city this year. Philadelphia has recorded at least 40 large-scale illegal dumping incidents on parkland citywide in the current year, and more than one-third involved tires, according to The Philadelphia Inquirer. The city has installed cameras, gates, fencing, guardrails, bollards and boulders at locations known for persistent dumping in response.
One of the more striking comparable incidents happened in Fairmount Park, where crews from Philadelphia Parks and Recreation removed about 800 tires dumped near Centennial Arboretum off Avenue of the Republic, the Inquirer reported. In that case, a U-Haul truck got stuck in the mud after illegally dumping hundreds of tires in the park, according to CBS News Philadelphia. In 2024, an estimated 4,000 tires choked a wooded ravine off Newtown and Adams Avenues in Tacony Creek Park, per the Inquirer’s reporting.
City Ramps Up Enforcement With New Task Force
Philadelphia is preparing a more aggressive response to the pattern. A task force of 40 city employees will fan out across Philadelphia’s streets starting Nov. 3 to search for illegally dumped tires, drywall and other debris, according to WHYY. The city’s Department of Sanitation now operates more than 400 surveillance cameras dedicated to catching illegal dumpers, roughly double the number it had in 2023, WHYY reported.
Officials have also warned that vehicles themselves are now at risk. If someone is caught using a vehicle to illegally dump trash, the city will impound that vehicle, under a law Mayor Cherelle Parker signed in June, WHYY reported. Philadelphia’s government has said the legislation also makes cleanup costs recoverable and allows people who hire illegal dumpers to be held liable, according to the City of Philadelphia.
For now, the North Philadelphia case remains under investigation as police try to determine whether the U-Haul tied to Arttaway and Gamble is connected to other recent dumping incidents around the city. With the new task force set to launch within days, the SEPTA lot dump could become an early test case for just how far the city’s expanded enforcement push can reach.
