Pomona family takes action after backyard alleyway turns into illegal trash dumping ground

A family in Pomona took matters into their own hands after they didn't get any help from the city when the alleyway behind their home turned into an illegal dumping ground. 

Alejandro Jimenez said that the mounds of garbage continued to pile up behind their fence for months starting back in April, and that they began to notice the same man in a red pickup truck dropping off items every week. Among the items left behind were a shower tub, a mattress frame and an old vacuum cleaner.

"It was just massive amounts of dumping. It wasn't just a bag, like half this whole alleyway," Jimenez said. 

When they called the city of Pomona to ask for help, Jimenez said that they were told they'd have to clean it up themselves. When the dumping didn't stop, they decided to try and catch the culprit by installing a hidden security camera. 

On June 26, thanks to their camera, they were ready to jump into action when they saw the red truck pull up behind their home. 

Jimenez said that he woke up at 2 a.m. after hearing the truck and ran outside with his phone to grab extra footage, confronting the man as he tried to leave even more trash behind. 

"After I caught him with the camera, I feel like I kinda scared him off," Jimenez said. 

He also turned the video evidence over to the Pomona Police Department, and in the following weeks he was even able to track the man to a nearby Home Depot to provide his location to detectives. 

"They were able to get video of the incident and take a photo of the suspect vehicle license plate, which they then reported to us and we were eventually able to take him into custody for outstanding arrest warrants," said PPD Lieutenant Robert Scheppmann. 

The suspect, 70-year-old Salvador Bermudes of Pomona, was booked for outstanding warrants and cited, police said.