'I Would Just Like To See It Cleaned:' Tulsa County Man Set To Stand Trial For Trash Dumping Violations

Records show a Tulsa County man is scheduled to stand trial in January for dumping a large amount of trash on the right of way outside his home. This will be the third time in four years that Rodney Smith will appear in court for this issue.

News On 6 previously reported that Tulsa County deputies arrested Smith in March, accusing him of dumping trash on the right of way.

Neighbors of Rodney Smith say they are fed up with the trash piled outside his front yard, a problem they say has worsened over the years. They want the trash cleaned up, regardless of who is responsible.

Stephen Smith, a neighbor who is not related to Rodney, has lived in his home near East 76th Street in Turley for nearly three decades. In the last five years, he says the neighborhood has deteriorated.

"Everybody that comes to my house to visit says, 'What is wrong with that up the street? How do you drive past this stuff every day?'" Stephen said.

Stephen lives on a narrow road, and he says that because Rodney Smith parks cars on the street, he often cannot get through.

"If I'm pulling my trailers, my stock trailers, it's almost impossible to get through. You’ve got to wait for someone to get out of the road sometimes," Stephen said.

Stephen worries that an emergency vehicle wouldn't be able to get through due to the trash and cars blocking the road, especially since it’s a dead end.

He says he doesn't want to see Rodney Smith behind bars, just a solution to what has turned into the neighborhood's problem. 

"I would just like to see it cleaned, I mean you don't want see nobody go to jail and spend time for junk, I mean junk," said Stephen.

Neighbors say the longer the trash stays in Rodney's front yard, the more it damages property values.

"It's horrible. I mean, if you were going to sell your property, there's no way. Who would want to live next to that?" said George Richardson, a Turley resident.

"It tears down the property value of my property and everybody else's who has a decent piece of property around here," Stephen added. "If I were to sell my place, somebody would say, 'I don’t want to live there if I’ve got to pass by this every day.'"

Records show that before Rodney Smith was arrested in March, he was arrested twice for dumping trash—once in February 2022 and again in July 2022.

The Tulsa County Sheriff's Office says it has sent new reports to the Tulsa County District Attorney's Office to pursue additional charges against Rodney Smith.

The Tulsa County District Attorney's Office declined to comment on the case, as it is ongoing.

Tulsa County Commissioner Stan Sallee said he has requested a briefing on the issue this week, and several departments are involved in addressing the complaint.