2 Sentenced in Chemical Dumping

Two men who illegally dumped chemical waste products down a hillside at a state park in Sunland were ordered Thursday to serve 30 days in jail or spend the same length of time working in a Los Angeles Police Department graffiti removal program, authorities said.

Onik Damaryan, 42, of Los Angeles and David Azaryan, 40, of Burbank, were sentenced by Los Angeles Municipal Judge Barry Taylor, according to the Los Angeles city attorney’s office.

Both were fined $810, placed on two years probation and ordered to pay nearly $2,500 in restitution to the Mountains Recreation and Conservation Authority for cleanup costs.

A passerby notified park rangers that the men were dumping three drums filled with flammable automotive waste and gasoline down a steep hillside in La Tuna Canyon State Park in February. The hazardous waste came from the men’s defunct auto body shop in Sunland, authorities said.

The Los Angeles Police Department’s hazardous materials section and the California Environmental Protection Agency conducted an investigation that led to criminal charges by the city attorney’s office.