Gwinnett County

Man arrested for dropping thousands of grocery store flyers on the side of road, police say

GWINNETT COUNTY, Ga. — Police dashcam video captured the arrest of a man they say is responsible for dropping thousands of grocery store flyers on the side of the road for weeks.

Almost every Monday morning, drivers along a ramp from Buford Highway to Pleasant Hill Road spotted Kroger ads all over the place.

City workers were tired of spending hours cleaning up the mess, so they set up a sting.

With Newsdrone 2 flying above, Gwinnett County bureau chief Tony Thomas walked the area with Duluth police Officer Ted Sadowski. He sat for hours early Monday morning, waiting for whomever was dumping the ads to strike again.

"We didn't have a vehicle description or nothing (sic) to work on, but we knew what time and how he was traveling," Sadowski said.

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He was right on time. He saw a driver hit the brakes after turning onto the ramp .

Police video showed Randy Peterson insisting it was all an accident.

"The same Kroger ads you have in the back, there's a bunch flying down our on-ramp and they match. I told him it was stuck in my car and that amount is going to be stuck in your car," Sadowski said.

Police said hundreds of ads were not only piled in Peterson's back seat and in the trunk, too.

Peterson was charged with one misdemeanor count of illegal dumping. More charges are likely.

Police said they confirmed Peterson works at a nearby Kroger store.

Thomas called the company's regional office, spoke to someone in corporate affairs and asked for a comment. A spokesman has not called Thomas back.