A Fayette County man serving time for killing his girlfriend in 2021 will have an additional six months to a year added on, after pleading guilty this week to dumping a large number of waste tires in Ohiopyle State Park.

Thomas L. Dean, 53, of Dunbar was sentenced in November 2024 to 20-40 years in prison for the death of his longtime girlfriend, Amy Jo Craig. Prosecutors said Dean beat Craig to death in 2021 before pleading guilty to third-degree murder.

The tire-dumping incident took place in 2017, according to court records.

Dean and his nephew, Donald W. Dean, 37, also of Dunbar dumped tires in the park while employed at a local auto body shop, police said.

The investigation began when park patrons made a suspicious behavior report to authorities. The report included a license plate eventually traced back to Dean.

According to court records, a state Department of Conservation and Natural Resources waterways officer began looking into the report, discovering a large load of about 100 tires off Greenbriar Road in Ohiopyle State Park. Several of the tires were labeled “junk,” leading authorities to believe they came from a tire shop or junkyard.

One of the witnesses who made the report, in a subsequent interview, said she recognized one of the men dumping the tires as Donald Dean, who had been her classmate in the Connellsville Area School District. Both Donald Dean and his uncle Thomas worked at The Tire Man’s Garage in Uniontown at the time of the dumping incident, according to court records.

In a 2022 interview with police, Donald Dean said he was offered $200 to dump the tires, and told police Thomas Dean was driving the truck they used.

In a 2024 interview with staff from the attorney general’s office at the Fayette County Prison, Thomas Dean admitted to dumping the tires with his nephew.

“While we recognize the defendant is already serving many years in prison for a separate crime, we feel this conviction is important in that it sends a message that illegal dumping is a serious offense,” Attorney General Dave Sunday said in a news release.

Donald Dean is wanted on charges of conspiracy and unlawful conduct. He was declared a fugitive in late March.