A diesel tech and shop owner serving a prison sentence foir violating federal environmental regulations has been freed.

Troy Lake recently received a pardon from President Donald Trump, ending his year and a day sentence. He was among six people included in Trump’s latest round of pardons, which included former major league baseball star Darryl Strawberry, who served 11 months in federal prison for tax evasion.

Lake, who owned and operated Elite Diesel Service Inc. in Windsor, Wyoming last year was sentenced to a year and a day in a Colorado federal prison and fined a total of $50,000. He was charged with violating Clean Air Act by dismantling emission control mechanisms on numerous heavy-duty trucks.

In April of 2022 federal prosecutors accused Lake’s Elite Siesel Service and several other shops with on-board computer monitoring systems on over 344 commercial vehicles. He eventually pleaded guilty to one count of consipracy to violate the Clean Air Act.

Lake’s case last month inspired Wyoming Senator Cynthia Lummis to introduced legislation aimed at eliminating emissions control on diesel engines. Provisions in Lummis’ proposed The Diesel Truck Liberation Act include:

• Prohibits the federal government from requiring manufacturers to install or maintain emissions control devices or onboard diagnostic systems
• Removes EPA authority to enforce Clean Air Act requirements related to vehicle emissions controls
• Individuals cannot be prosecuted or sued under federal law for tampering or improving emissions equipment
• Vacates existing prison sentences for emissions-related violations and expunges criminal and civil records related to these offenses

Seven other repair shops cooperated with federal investigators and were fined and avoided any jail time. The investigation covered mechanical alterations made brtween 2017 and 2020.