David “Heavy D” Sparks, one-half of the Diesel Brothers duo and a familiar face from YouTube and Discovery Channel, is finally out of jail ... and he’s not staying quiet about it. The TV personality was taken into custody last week in Utah after failing to pay nearly $850,000 in court-ordered legal fees stemming from a long-running Clean Air Act lawsuit filed by the activist group Utah Physicians for a Healthy Environment.
Sparks spent three days in federal custody before a judge ordered his immediate release at a hearing late last week. While early reports suggested Sparks was jailed for skipping government fines, the details are more complicated. The money in question wasn’t a criminal penalty but attorney fees from a civil environmental case that began back in 2017.
The Diesel Brothers were accused of “emissions tampering” building and selling diesel trucks that had their emission systems removed or disabled. The court ruled against them in 2020, determining the team’s custom trucks emitted up to thirty times more pollutants than standard models. Sparks says his team built only a handful of these trucks, claiming they were mostly for off-road exhibitions.
In his first statement after release, Sparks said he “feels vindicated” and plans to share his full story in an upcoming YouTube video. “This was never criminal. It’s about standing up to a system that’s been abused,” he said. His attorney, Cole Cannon, called the arrest “a grave injustice,” arguing Sparks was detained over a paperwork dispute rather than a crime.
Heavy D insists he has already paid “hundreds of thousands” in fines but believes the additional legal fees against him are excessive. The court, however, says he ignored multiple payment orders and restrictions over several years leading to his brief incarceration.
Sparks’ supporters have rallied online, while critics point out that tampering with diesel emissions systems undermines environmental progress. For now, Heavy D is free, defiant, and turning his legal battle into a media moment.
