Jail time for hauler

Local demolition expert and waste hauler Thomas Carpenter pleaded guilty in Butte County Superior Court Tuesday (April 22) to violation of probation, and was sentenced to 180 days in Butte County Jail.

In 2006 Carpenter hauled away the rubble from two Chico State buildings razed to make way for the university’s Wildcat Recreation Center and dumped the 3,200 tons of debris into and along the Sacramento River.

The Butte County district attorney filed 11 felony and misdemeanor charges to which Carpenter plea-bargained to avoid jail. Deputy District Attorney Hal Thomas said Carpenter violated probation by not reporting in, changing his address without notice, getting a DUI and illegally possessing an assault weapon.

“This all started six years ago and is such a tale of woe,” said Thomas, who credited District Attorney Mike Ramsey (pictured) for keeping the pressure on Carpenter and not letting him slip through legal cracks after the damage he’d done to the environment.