Hawkins Pays Fine

Sonora, CA — Sonora City Council member Matt Hawkins has agreed to pay a fine over a dispute regarding placing trash into the dumpster of his former employer.

Hawkins entered a guilty plea and agreed to pay $210.

“I apologize to my constituents for any harm this has caused,” says Hawkins. “I also want to thank the Sonora Police Department and District Attorney’s Office for their professionalism.”

Hawkins says it has been a challenging several weeks for he and his family, noting that there have been a couple occasions since the incident became public, where someone has driven by his house and dumped trash across his front yard. He says he doesn’t know if it was a single person responsible, or a group of people.

Hawkins says he feels it is unfortunate that taxpayer money was used to investigate a personal matter between he and his former employer, and notes that he is willing to talk with any constituents that have questions about the matter.

The Sonora Police Department started investigating the case after Hawkins was discovered to have placed a regular sized personal trash bag into a bin at Grocery Outlet. Hawkins says he understands why it has become somewhat of a high profile case in the community, given that he is a Sonora City Councilman, and feels he was treated no differently than any other person on the street would have been.

The DA’s Office reports that the infraction Hawkins pleaded guilty to was 374.3a, which is littering.