Hundreds of tires dumped from UHaul at North Philly train station

We begin tonight at 5 with a wild waste story. Take a look at all of these tires. Philadelphia police say they arrested two men for using a U-Haul to dump hundreds of them in North Philadelphia. The lot where they caught them has become a problem spot. Investigators say they're amping up enforcement as a result of this. This is the 5 o'clock news. I'm Dawn Timoney. Our Kelly Rule is live in North Philadelphia. And Kelly, it sounds like this is just a popular place for all the wrong reasons. Dawn, that's exactly right. Police say in the last month and a half alone, they had nine cases of illegal dumping here involving tires and box trucks. So they're going to see if they're all connected and pursue criminal charges, along with fines, which can be up to $5,000 per tire. That was like 1:30 in the morning just to see that. Yeah, it was crazy. Daryl Davis takes several tow calls a day but says this was a first. He showed up to take away a U-Haul from this lot on Tuesday on the 1400 block of West Indiana Avenue right off Broad Street and saw hundreds of tires spilling out of it. As soon as I pulled up, I just see tires spilled out everywhere on the side. I was just like, I was just stuck. Philadelphia police say a witness of the illegal dumping called 911 just before midnight. Police responded and say they saw two men, 68-year-old Paul Gamble from Darby and 52-year-old Charles Ardaway from Philly, using a U-Haul box truck to dump between 200 and 350 tires on the property. Officers immediately intervened and arrested them. Police believe Gamble rented and operated the truck and Ardaway unloaded the tires. It is a crime. It's minimum misdemeanor. It can rise to a felony level. It's an arrestable offense. So it's not a ticket. It's not a citation. It's an arrestable offense. The Neighborhood Services Unit calls the lot a legacy short dumping spot. In just the last month and a half, they had nine cases involving tires and box trucks. There is even a fresh pile behind the fencing in the lot today. Police say they have cameras on the property along with sanitation. And if there's a nexus between these nine jobs in that particular concentrated area, they're going to find it. And they're going to find where they got the tires from. So harmful to the environment, especially tires. Tires are toxic, very difficult to get rid of, very difficult to recycle. And there's a cost associated with that. And unfortunately, the cost comes on the city, which is you and me. We have to pay for that. The taxpayers have to pay for that. Working with several other city agencies, police say the city will also pursue fines in these cases, a maximum of $5,000 per tire, and cleanup costs, and will investigate if the pair is connected to any other cases. Davis says he also towed a U-Haul on Sunday night just a few blocks away in North Philadelphia that was hauling tires. I mean, just don't put anything, period. It's just, you shouldn't really do. Plus, it messed up the neighborhood. Luckily, wherever they don't do that, they're able to get cleaned up. A lot of times, tires just sit there and stay for months and years or whatever. The more you enforce it, then the less it will happen. It's better that way. Police say they were able to make this arrest so quickly because of the 911 call, so they are encouraging the public to continue to help them with this. The two men arrested are facing charges of criminal mischief and conspiracy and scattering rubbish.