The arrest of Heavy D filled your social media feeds and sparked a firestorm.

Yes, I was arrested — and I just spent three days locked up in solitary confinement. But this wasn’t criminal. I wasn’t even charged with a crime, and I didn’t do anything illegal.

With that opening, David Sparks, know as Heavy D Sparks—the Discovery Channel star of Diesel Brothers—launched into a 30-minute video defending himself after his October 2025 arrest in Salt Lake City.

The arrest stemmed from a contempt-of-court order tied to a civil lawsuit brought by Utah Physicians for a Healthy Environment (UPE). The group accused Heavy D Sparks and several businesses of violating the Clean Air Act nearly a decade ago.

What followed, according to Heavy D, was a nine-year ordeal of “bureaucracy run wild”and what he describes as a broken environmental law system that punishes small businesses instead of helping the planet.

“The Most Miserable Experience of My Life”

Heavy D Sparks says he was taken into custody by U.S. Marshals while heading to the One Utah Summit, a statewide leadership event where he was scheduled to speak on private–public partnerships for community projects.

“At first I thought it was a prank,” he said. “Then they handcuffed me, threw me in the back of their truck, and drove me to jail. The marshals felt terrible. They knew this made no sense.”

Once booked, Sparks was placed in protective custody—solitary confinement, 23 hours a day alone in a cell.

I’m telling you right now, that was the most miserable experience of my life. Two days in there was enough for me to gain a whole new respect for anyone who’s ever done real time.

The Lawsuit: 20 Trucks, 164 Parts, And $114 Million In Damages

The legal conflict began in 2017, when UPE sued Sparks and his companies for allegedly selling “emissions defeat” parts and modified diesel trucks. The group’s attorney, Reed Zars of Laramie, Wyoming, argued the activity violated the Clean Air Act and Utah environmental statutes.

According to Sparks, the lawsuit inflated damages wildly, claiming 20 trucks and 164 parts caused over $114 million in harm, or about $5 million per vehicle.

“Many of those trucks were show or off-road vehicles,” he explained. “The EPA itself declined to take the case because it was so small it wasn’t even a priority.”

Sparks says he cooperated early: removing any questionable listings, halting tuning work, and even offering double refunds to customers who returned emissions-defeat parts.

“I love our environment. My happy place is out in the wilderness,” Heavy D said. “We’ve pulled hundreds of wrecked vehicles out of public lands and done countless cleanups. We put our money where our mouth is.”

But UPE, he claims, refused every offer of compromise or community restitution.

“They Plastered My Name Everywhere”

Within 24 hours of the lawsuit filing, Sparks says UPE orchestrated a media blitz, sending his name and photo across local, national, and international headlines.

They plastered my name, my face, and my company all over the news — using random internet clips of people blowing black smoke that had nothing to do with us.

That publicity, he says, cost his team major partnerships and sponsorships that never recovered.

Early Rulings And A Key Appeal

The first federal judge on the case ruled partly in UPE’s favor but awarded nothing close to $114 million. Sparks appealed to the 10th Circuit Court of Appeals, which found he could only be liable for emissions related to trucks or parts actually used in Utah.

That decision cut the penalty dramatically (down to roughly $550,000 in federal fines).

The doctors lost 99 percent of their claims but still got treated like they won the whole thing. That’s how upside-down this law is.

Under the Clean Air Act’s “citizen suit” provision, if a plaintiff wins any portion of a case, they can demand 100 percent of their attorney’s fees. Sparks says that loophole turned his case into a “blank check.”

Over time, four separate law firms billed hours against him. “Every new motion meant more fees,” he said. “We’re up to 522 court filings now—the biggest docket my lawyers have ever seen.”

The Document Dispute That Led To Jail

The flashpoint came in mid-2025 when UPE’s lawyers accused Sparks of failing to provide complete financial records—including every transaction over $5,000 since 2020 across all his companies and affiliates.

“Even Fortune 500 companies don’t keep records like that,” Heavy D Sparks said.

Making matters worse, his longtime accountant Christy Vanmaring passed away unexpectedly in December 2024. She managed all company finances, but key passwords and files were lost.

“We invited them to our shop, our office, even my home and cabin to look at everything firsthand. They refused,” he said.

UPE then told the court Sparks was ignoring discovery orders. The judge, believing their version, issued an arrest warrant for contempt of court—a civil sanction, not a criminal charge.

I was taken to jail and spent two and a half days in solitary confinement all over a paperwork dispute in a civil lawsuit.

He alleges the plaintiffs’ attorney even suggested his release would be easier if Sparks agreed to a settlement—which he calls “extortion.”

Vindication In Court

From his jail cell, Sparks coordinated with attorney Cole Cannon, who prepared a detailed timeline showing each document already provided to the court—sometimes multiple times.

At a subsequent hearing, Cannon presented a 40-slide presentation proving “substantial compliance.” Heavy D even invited Zars to take the stand under oath if anything was false.

Zars declined.

The judge, Sparks says, realized what had happened.

I walked in with wrist and ankle cuffs and walked out vindicated.

Cannon then told the court:

“Your Honor, Mr. Sparks does more good for the state of Utah in one single weekend than these doctors have done throughout their entire nine-year legal battle.”

The judge agreed the situation had been mishandled and told both sides, “Let’s not let this happen again.”

“The System Is Broken”

After nearly a decade of legal turmoil, Heavy D Sparks says his case exposes deep flaws in the way the Clean Air Act citizen suit mechanism is used.

“The law was designed to hold big corporations accountable,” he said. “Now it’s being used as a weapon against small businesses and private citizens.”

He claims none of the millions collected in similar cases go toward measurable environmental improvement. “To my knowledge, not one dollar of these lawsuits goes to cleaner air or emissions programs,” he said. “It just gets sent to Washington and absorbed into the system—while lawyers pocket massive fees.”

The Reform Heavy D Wants

Sparks isn’t just venting—he’s proposing a specific legislative fix. He wants to rewrite the law so that attorneys can recover no more than 25 percent of total penalties in fees, instead of 100 percent. According to Sparks, “The Clean Air Act has to be changed. The way it’s written right now allows for 100% of the attorneys fees to be paid out to the attorneys that are coming after you, even if they don’t win their full claim against you.” 

Right now, if they win 1 percent of a case, they can bill you for 100 percent of their time. That’s insanity. It lets them drag things out forever while good people lose their freedom or their livelihoods.

He’s calling on fellow small business owners, mechanics, and voters to speak up—“respectfully and factually”—about reform.

Ask UPE where the money from these lawsuits goes. How much has actually been spent on improving Utah’s air quality? I’ve looked for eight years and haven’t found a single answer.

Aftermath And Gratitude

Sparks emphasizes that he’s not seeking revenge. He just wants accountability and a more balanced law.

“I’ve done everything I can to comply, to pay what’s fair, and to move on with integrity,” he said. “This case should have been over years ago, but it’s been dragged out for profit and publicity.”

Thanks to Cole Cannon’s efforts, Sparks walked free and felt, for the first time, “seen and understood.”

To supporters who flooded him with messages after his arrest, he says:

Your support means more than you’ll ever know. This was never about me trying to dodge responsibility. It was about standing up for fairness, truth, and accountability.

Heavy D Looks Ahead

Now back home in Utah, Sparks says he’s turning his experience into advocacy—not anger.

Nobody should ever spend two days in jail for a civil paperwork dispute. That’s not justice—that’s bureaucracy run wild.

He vows to keep working toward reform while continuing his rescue and cleanup work through Diesel Brothers-affiliated projects.

“I’m home. I’m good. And I’m more motivated than ever to make sure this never happens to anyone else,” he said.

And to his opponents, Sparks leaves the same words that opened his video:

You wrongfully stole my freedom and tarnished my good name. And now I will pursue accountability in every forum until this can never happen again. Because even though I’m vindicated — I’m nowhere near done.

Watch the full video for all of the details.