(March 9, 2015) – Don’t pick up the trash early in an Atlanta suburb. Otherwise, you’ll end up spending 30 days in jail. A sanitation worker learned that the hard way, according to Atlanta’s WSB-TV.
Kevin McGill was cited for picking up trash around 5 a.m. one day in Sandy Springs, Ga., violating an ordinance that prohibits trash collection before 7 a.m. The rule was in place because residents complained that picking up trash earlier than 7 a.m. disrupted their sleep.
Prosecutors asked for the maximum punishment for McGill—30 days in jail. The judge granted the request without hesitation.
Sandy Springs prosecutor Bill Riley called for the same punishment for a worker who did the same thing last year, saying residents call 911 when trash collection comes too early.
McGill told the judge it was his first time, but the judge didn’t seem to care.
“I was stunned,” McGill told WSB. “I didn’t know what to think. I was shocked.”
McGill, who didn’t have an attorney, accepted the punishment and agreed to serve his 30-day jail sentence over the course of 15 weekends. He began serving the sentence last weekend. He’s since hired an attorney, who argued that McGill’s employer should be punished instead of McGill.
McGill said he just wants the whole thing over with as soon as possible.
“I’m away from my family, my wife, and she’s got to take care of the two little boys and I have four dogs.”
