Blue crab river dumping crime wraps up with Columbus court plea
It smelled fishy from the outset.
State wildlife resource officers called to an apparent fish kill on the Chattahoochee River’s Bibb Pond in Columbus in 2018 found more than a thousand blue crabs, about 500 pounds, far from their ocean home.
The seafood bonanza also was far beyond fresh, and well below its estimated value of $2,000.
A Department of Natural Resources investigation led to charges against two suspects, one the owner of a Manchester Expressway market called the S-mart, the other an employee who dumped the crabs.
The employee said he was just following the owner’s orders, when he was told to get rid of the stale crabs, so he dumped them in the backwater of the North Highlands Dam, where they piled up near a covered Chattahoochee RiverWalk bridge.
Someone strolling along the riverwalk caught wind of this, and reported the discovery Sept. 10, 2018.
The case clawed from this load of crabs was wrapped up Thursday.
Former S-mart owner Cuong Bui pleaded guilty to the misdemeanor offense of dealing in wholesale fish without a license. Judge Ben Land sentenced the 44-year-old to 12 months’ probation, and ordered him to pay $1,305 in fines and fees.
Charges against the 60-year-old worker will be dropped, said prosecutor Nathan Stewart.
Court records show authorities initially charged Bui and his employee with the commercial dumping of hazardous waste, a felony.
The S-mart no longer is in business, Bui told the court. He was represented by Columbus attorney Susan Henderson.
This story was originally published September 24, 2021 at 11:19 AM.