Police: Suspected Georgia serial tire dumper arrested

CLAYTON COUNTY, Ga. (FOX 5 Atlanta) - Clayton County police say they have arrested a man wanted for allegedly dumping thousands of tires illegally in the county.

Officials say they have been searching for Don Leverette for months. On Saturday, May 4, the Clayton Police Department announced that they have captured the alleged serial tire dumper.

According to police, officers were called to South Regional Hospital after reports of a battery case. The victim told police that Leverette had beaten her with a handgun, and gave officers the address where he was headed.

Officers went to the scene on the 300 block of Independence Drive and took Leverette into custody without incident.

They believe Leverette has dumped more than 100,000 tires in the county alone.

MORE: Police search for tire dumping suspect

Leverette is also believed to be responsible for dumping around 12,000 tires in a Union City subdivision in 2017.

Police believe tire shops paid Leverette to dispose the tires at an approved processor, but instead of doing that, police said Leverette pocketed the cash and dumped the tires illegally.

At the time, officials said they spoke with Leverette over the phone about the matter.

"He said he would clean it up, but as you can see, he didn't, so that's why we are here today," Union City Police Chief Cassandra Jones said.

RELATED: Man dumps thousands of tires in Union City neighborhood

According to authorities, it would cost roughly $50,000 to clean the mess up, with the funds coming from the government's reimbursement program.

Investigators say Leverette also possibly dumped tires in Fayette, Cobb, and Fulton counties.

The investigation is ongoing.