Septic installer arrested at Board of Health meeting

Staff report

WARREN

Septic installer Berry Meadows, owner of Digging Dirt LLC of Leavittsburg, was taken into custody at the March 19 meeting of the Trumbull County Board of Health at the Bazetta Township Administration Building.

A deputy with the Trumbull County Sheriff’s Office working security at the meeting arrested Meadows on a warrant out of Warren Municipal Court. The charge relates to allegations from the Ohio Department of Taxation that Meadows failed to secure an Ohio vendor’s license.

The deputy said he learned earlier March 19 from a clerk at Warren Municipal Court that a warrant had been issued for Meadows’ arrest.

The deputy asked Meadows about it when Meadows arrived for the meeting, and Meadows said he thought his attorney had “taken care of that.” Meadows, of Warren, was taken to the Trumbull County Jail.

Meadows’ attorney, David Engler, said he finds the charge suspicious because Meadows never had a vendor’s license in the past and doesn’t believe he needs one to operate a septic-installation business.

State officials first visited Meadows regarding his needing a vendor’s license in December, just after Meadows gave a deposition in a federal lawsuit in which he mentioned he didn’t have a vendor’s license, Engler said.

The warrant was issued Feb. 11, according to records at Warren Municipal Court, after Meadows failed to appear in court for arraignment on the charge.

Meadows was arraigned last Thursday in Warren Municipal Court, where he pleaded not guilty and was released on a personal-recognizance bond, meaning he didn’t have to pay anything.