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Police arrest ‘nail bandit’ suspected of scattering roofing nails on streets The “nail bandit” had been spreading roofing nails on the streets of affluent Dallas neighborhoods. (NCD)
PLANO, Texas — Police in the Dallas area believe they have found the “nail bandit.”
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For several weeks, a man has been spreading roofing nails in several north Texas neighborhoods, causing havoc and flat tires among area motorists, The Dallas Morning News reported.
Kevin Frazier Genter, 45, of Grand Prairie, was arrested on an unrelated charge on Monday, according to Collin County online booking records.
Police said Genter was driving around a Toyota headquarters parking lot firing a gun on Oct. 20 and 21, KTVT reported. The description of his vehicle matched the description of a dark-colored sedan that reportedly dropped roofing nails around the parking lot last week, according to the television station.
Dallas ‘nail bandit’ scattered thousands of roofing nails, aggravating neighbors https://t.co/Ola8B3Dyv0
“When they went to review the surveillance video, the witnesses working for Toyota realized this was the same guy (they) had seen a few days prior putting nails in their parking lot,” Plano police Officer Jennifer Chapman told KDFW-TV.
Officers in Carrollton arrested Genter, who was charged with deadly conduct related to the shooting, online booking records show.
“We were quick to figure out who this person was,” Chapman told KDFW. “Once we did, he was taken into custody.”
The roofing nails, sometimes numbering in the thousands, were spread around in some of Dallas’ wealthiest neighborhoods, including University Park, Highland Park and Preston Hollow, the Morning News reported.
“There were tons of them,” Laila Dolle, who lives in Preston Hollow, told the newspaper. “It was clearly very deliberate.”
“There were hundreds, and they were clumped together, and it was difficult because we had to extract them from the asphalt because the weather was hot.”
Highland Park police spokesperson Lt. Jessa Russell said police have not identified a motive.
“The first time we found nails, we assumed it was just an accident,” Russell told the Morning News.
Motorists are hoping the “nail bandit” is off the streets.
“It’s just so dangerous. We use these streets every day,” Dolle told the newspaper.
“This guy has really done some damage and just made a major pain for the people in our community,” Brooke Bremer. another area resident, told the Morning News.
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