Wellston Police Chief Brian Gilmore was on routine patrol when he caught a man illegally dumping tree branches behind a school. The man drove his garbage all the way from Chesterfield, in broad daylight, only to be arrested.

For the Wellston Police Department, people dumping their trash in their town is nothing new.

"We've been having this problem with people we call 'Midnight Dumpers' for quite some time. Two or three weeks ago we had the St. Louis County Health Department here, along the side of Normandy High School. They had dumped so much there, they couldn't even get the schoolbus in the garage." Mayor Frank McNeil, Sr. - Mayor of Wellston

This affects the city of Wellston even beyond the obvious health risks.

"We have a Public Works Department, and we have to pay gentlemen to pick these things up and we also have to pay to get these things dumped. So we're paying TWICE for people that don't want to pay for their own dumping." Chief Brian Gilmore - Wellston Police Department

But starting with today's arrest the Wellston Police are out to make an example out of anyone that comes into their town to dump their garbage.

The man arrested today had to post a bond for $1000. Chief Gilmore told me this isn't the only case of someone coming from Chesterfield to dump. They caught someone from a construction company in South St. Louis City dumping debris in Wellston earlier this year.