THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Monday, May 6, 1996 TAG: 9605060035
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B2 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY STEVE STONE, STAFF WRITER
LENGTH: Short : 38 lines
A state police sergeant spotted a man dumping tires along an interstate interchange Saturday and investigators now believe the same man may be responsible for illegally disposing of hundreds of tires in the area.
About 11:30 a.m. Saturday, Sgt. David Reckelhoff was heading from I-264 to I-64 west when he saw a tire come flying out of a blue, 1986 Dodge van that was stopped on the side of the road.
Reckelhoff stopped to investigate. He found seven more tires in the van - and another 35 to 40 on the ground nearby.
The driver of the van, Steven J. Gyoker Jr., 51, of Virginia Beach, was charged with depositing trash or debris on public property, improper stopping and with being a pedestrian on the interstate.
Tammy Van Dame, a state police spokeswoman, said Gyoker was being paid $1.50 each to dispose of the tires. If he had deposited them legally in a city landfall, he would have had to pay a charge of about a $1 per tire.
``In order to make more of a profit, apparently he dumped these tires on the interstate,'' Van Dame said.
And state police are investigating whether Gyoker is linked to any of about 15 other tire dump sites found in the area. Van Dame estimated that there are as many as 600 tires at the various sites, all near the highway.
Investigators are looking for anyone who may have seen tires being tossed from vehicles, especially a blue Dodge van. They also are trying to locate anyone who paid Gyoker to dispose of tires.
Anyone with information is asked to call 424-6800.
KEYWORDS: TIRE ILLEGAL DUMPING ARREST by CNB