Man accused of scattering nails on roads faces felony

Authorities say they have caught the man who for months scattered thousands of nails on roads and in parking lots, creating a path of tire destruction that stretched from Grafton to Mequon.

Theodore Drazovic, 27, of Grafton, was charged Monday in Ozaukee County Circuit Court with felony criminal damage to property after a lengthy investigation that was aided by a tip from a Grafton hardware store employee.

Police began receiving reports of nails — usually roofing nails sometimes in quantities of more than 100 — on streets in areas that ranged from the Mequon Fire Department to Lime Kiln Park in Grafton.

The Grafton Police Department alone received 48 reports of tire damage caused by nails totaling $7,200, although authorities note that many flat tires probably went unreported.

A break in the case came on Dec. 28 when, on the same day nails were found at the intersection of Lake Shore Drive and Donges Bay Road in Mequon, authorities received a report from an employee of Grafton Ace Hardware that Drazovic had purchased two boxes of nails that day.

Nails, which appeared to be new, were also found at the intersection of Lake Shore and Ravine drives in Mequon. 

Authorities, who secretly placed a GPS tracker on the Cadillac Drazovic drove after obtaining a court order, pulled him over on Falls Road in the Town of Grafton on Dec. 28 and found an empty box of roofing nails in his car, according to the criminal complaint.

Also found in his car was a box that contained or had contained five pounds of nails, which authorities determined Drazovic purchased from the Mequon Ace Hardware store on Dec. 28, the complaint states.

Drazovic initially denied being involved in the incidents, but during an interview on Feb. 5 he admitted he scattered nails on roads. He said he didn’t intend to damage vehicles but believed people were following him and threw nails out of his car window when he felt threatened, according to the complaint.

During a court hearing Monday, Ozaukee County Assistant District Attorney Benjamin Lindsay recommended $500 bail for Drazovic, but Judge Steve Cain set it at $2,500 and ordered him not to have contact with any hardware store or business that sells building materials.

Felony criminal damage to property is punishable by a maximum one year, six months in prison and two years of extended supervision.