A Hillsboro man who illegally dumped hundreds of scrap tires around Highland County was sentenced to four years in prison, according to a press release from Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost.

Ronald Ison, 37, was sentenced last week after he pleaded no contest in August to seven counts of illegal open dumping of scrap tires and one count of illegal transportation of scrap tires.

“This guy created a public safety hazard, trashed the public’s land, and then forced the public to foot the bill to clean up his mess,” Yost said in the news release. “This is where the rubber meets the road.”

Ison transported and dumped more than 200 scrap tires during 2017 at locations throughout the county, including the Paint Creek State Park Wildlife Area. He obtained the tires from a local junkyard that agreed to pay him for their disposal, the news release said.

In one case, Yost’s office said, tires Ison discarded on a Paint Township road disabled a school bus that was transporting children, causing them to arrive late for school.

Prior to his sentencing, Ison paid restitution of $730 to the local solid waste district for the cleanup costs.

The case was investigated by the Bureau of Criminal Investigation’s Environmental Enforcement Unit in partnership with the Ohio Department of Natural Resources Division of Wildlife. Attorneys from Yost’s Environmental Enforcement Section prosecuted the case.