Waking up to the sound of the garbage truck collecting the weeks waste is annoying to say the least. However, fining and jailing a man for the offense seems to be a bit extreme, but is exactly what happened to an Atlanta area worker.

Kevin McGill, 48, works for Waste Management Inc, one of the largest privately owned garbage collection companies in the country. McGill took a guilty plea deal for violating a 7am garbage collection ordinance in the north Atlanta suburb of Sandy Springs.

Apparently, McGill didn’t have a lawyer at the time of his sentencing and is now filing a motion to withdraw the plea to fight the sentence fine and time in jail. His new lawyer is Kimberly Bandoh.

McGill started collecting the garbage in the rich suburb of Atlanta around 5am, a full two hours before the ordinance says one can start garbage collection. It is unclear as to why he decided to start collecting so early at this time.

The Court Cief Solicitor Bill Riley asked for the 30 day sentence of McGill for his violation and the judge overseeing the case agreed to the harsh penalty. With no lawyer involved, it was set.

According to the Daily Mail: He was sentenced on February 20th at the local courthouse, the running of which has been handed over to private contractors by the city. 

There were no real negotiations between her client and Mr Riley when he was sentenced, Ms Bandoh told Daily Mail Online, adding that the solicitor had claimed the offense meant ‘automatic jail time’.

Mr Riley has stood by the request for jail and says that ‘fines don’t seem to work’ and ‘The only thing that seems to stop the activity is actually going to jail.’

Mr Riley has stood by the request for jail and says that ‘fines don’t seem to work’ and ‘The only thing that seems to stop the activity is actually going to jail.’

The solicitor said that residents of Sandy Springs, which include professional athletes and executives for Delta Air Lines, begin calling 9-1-1 when they hear early garbage men, according to WSPA.

He said it was the right decision to punish McGill, who had only been on the route for three months, rather than his company, which the city has contracted to pick up its residents’ trash. 

Many understand the frustration residence feel with having their garbage picked up so early, but why not penalize the company involved instead of the employee? Many feel this would make the most sense to curve the impulse to get the garbage collecting route started earlier than later.

McGill’s new lawyer, Kimberly Bandon is outraged over sentence, fine and the fact that her client didn’t have proper legal representation when he was ticketed and arrested. She is leading the charge to remove the plea deal and fight the case.

McGill isn’t serving his 30 day notice straight through, but on the weekends. This allows him to keep his job and to take care of his family while he is serving his jail time. But hopefully his new lawyer will be able to reverse the courts decision and reduce the fine and jail time.

SOUND OFF: What do you think about receiving jail time for picking up the garbage too early?

Source: DailyMail