No Jail Time in Muncie Tire Fire
The trial judge up in Delaware County accepted the proposed plea agreement for the Gruppe brothers over the fire in Muncie that burned an unregistered stock of waste tires. The Brothers claimed their business was experimenting with a process for turning old tires into a topical soil amendment that would add nitrogen and prevent soil compaction. The acknowledged that they did not work through the proper channels to gain approval for their experiment.
The trial judge expressed belief in the brothers’ good intentions and spared them any jail time:
The judge commended the Gruppes for accepting responsibility for their crime and for operating an enterprise that created jobs. But he faulted the defendants for committing a crime that violated the public trust and caused significant potential harm to the community.
The judge, an admirer of the entrepreneurial talents of the defendants, ordered them to make entrepreneurial presentations to each high school in Delaware County as part of their community-service sentence.
