‘Diesel Brothers’ star released from jail after being held in contempt

SALT LAKE CITY (ABC4) — A star from the hit reality show “Diesel Brothers” has been released from jail after being held in contempt.

David “Heavy D” Sparks was arrested and booked into the Salt Lake County Jail on Tuesday, Oct. 7, after a federal judge found him in contempt for failing to pay over $851,000 for violating the Clean Air Act.

Documents obtained by ABC4.com show a judge ordered Sparks be released from jail during a contempt hearing Thursday.

In 2017, a lawsuit was filed against Diesel Power Gear LLC, B&W Auto LLC, Joshua Stuart, and Sparks. The suit was filed by Utah Physicians for a Healthy Environment who claimed the defendants illegally removed pollution control equipment from diesel trucks before selling the parts and trucks as part of their reality TV show.

After years of examining the case, a federal judge ordered defendants to pay civil penalties to the federal government and to the state of Utah, in addition to paying for UPHE’s legal costs, totaling over $851,000.

“Having exhausted all other mechanisms to ensure his compliance with court orders, the court will order Defendant Sparks incarcerated until he complies with the specific requirements necessary to purge his contempt,” the judge wrote in a contempt order filed on Oct. 2.