Authorities charged two men in separate incidents related to illegally dumping trash last week. Officials say one suspect used a stolen utility trailer.

MLK PARKWAY

On March 28, a Wilson County sheriff’s deputy responded to a trespassing call in the 3500 block of Martin Luther King Jr. Parkway. The caller reported that a trespasser was dumping trash on his property, according to a sheriff’s office news release.

Deputies found the suspect, who was later identified as 40-year-old Channing Dwight Cobb of Wilson, behind an old, dilapidated farmhouse, according to Wanda Samuel, sheriff’s office chief of staff.

Samuel said Cobb was pulling a dump-style utility trailer with no registration plate displayed. The trailer was loaded with items including furniture and a mattress and box spring, according to the sheriff’s office.

Authorities say Cobb told the deputy he knew he was trespassing and was cleaning up the items he dumped.

Samuel said investigators later learned the utility trailer was stolen from a workshop off Forest Hills Loop Road.

“A total of two utility trailers had been stolen from the workshop premises,” Samuel said, adding that deputies contacted the Wilson Police Department, which investigated the thefts.

Deputies charged Cobb with possession of stolen goods, trespassing and littering. Police charged him with possession of stolen goods and altering or removing a serial number.

He was jailed under a $1,500 secured bond.

TUCKER COURT

On March 29, deputies were called to a second illegal dumping incident on Tucker Court.

The caller said people on a U-Haul truck were stuck in the mud after dumping trash. Deputies arrived, found the U-Haul truck and saw several black trash bags, boxes and a mattress on the road’s shoulder.

Samuel said the U-Haul’s occupants were uncooperative and denied dumping the trash. Deputies searched through the trash and found evidence that connected one occupant, 29-year-old Joshua Daniel Peebles of Wilson, to the illegal dumping.

Peebles was issued a citation for littering. The trash was removed from the road, Samuel said.

“The Wilson County Sheriff’s Office encourages everyone to report illegal dumping when it occurs,” Samuel said.

She said callers can report the location of the illegal dumping, vehicle description and license plate number.