FAYETTEVILLE — A man accused of illegal dumping on his land in west Washington County last year pleaded guilty Wednesday.
Bob Devor, 67, pleaded guilty in Washington County Circuit Court to violation of the Arkansas Solid Waste Management Act. He was sentenced to three years probation, fined $1,000 and ordered to submit a DNA sample.
A murder investigation led to the dumping case against Devor, according to prosecutors.
Devor was the husband of Pauline Devor, who is believed to be a victim of foul play. Delores Eggert, 50, her daughter, is charged with capital murder and has a Aug. 16 trial date.
Pauline Devor was 70 when she disappeared in June 2007. Sheriff Tim Helder said investigators found what are believed to be charred bones and other human remains in a secluded area on the Devor’s farm, near Cincinnati, in April 2009 after an unnamed woman told police she helped Eggert burn Devor’s body.
Eggert is accused of beating Pauline Devor, shooting her and burning the body.
The site of the alleged illegal dump is the same site the sheriff’s office was searching for Pauline Devor’s remains but there’s no connection between Bob Devor’s dumping activities and his wife’s disappearance, according to prosecutors and police.
Deputy Washington County Prosecuting Attorney Denis Dean said the dump was there for several years and contained a variety of materials, including some that were hazardous, toxic or could leach into the soil. Items in the dump included appliances, shingles, tires, petroleum-based products, coolants, refrigerants, household trash, metal drums and old gas storage tanks. One pile was burned and was within 50 yards of a creek.
The Arkansas Department of Environmental Quality was involved in the dump investigation, Dean said.