‘Nail Bandit;’ Ohio man accused of scattering 350 pounds of nails on road through 3 towns

WEST CHESTER, Ohio — A Cincinnati man is accused of throwing nails in the street, resulting in multiple people getting flat tires, now he is accused of doing it again.

Anthony Dyson, who some people are calling the Nail Bandit, is accused of buying 350 pounds of nails and scattering them on the road through three towns north of Cincinnati, our news partners at WCPO reported.

According to Springdale police, Dyson was linked to scattered nails found on Crescentville Road in Springdale, Sharonville, and West Chester on March 24.

Dyson was arrested by West Chester police in 2023, and accused of throwing nails out of a moving car. In the most recent incident, Dyson faces three charges of placing hazardous materials on a highway.

>> ‘I’m helping people;’ Local EMT spends every day saving lives in her community

In order to find out if Dyson was involved in the recent string of scattered nails, officers said they needed to be clever with how they caught him.

Springdale police set up a sting operation, where they got a store involved. They colored the nails with something that is impossible for the human eye to see in normal light, but under a black light, you see the difference.

Detective Sergeant Jeff Heard with Springdale Police explained how officers caught Anthony Dyson.

“I found basically a spray paint varnish. We got some of the nails from the store. We colored them with the luminescent spray took them back to the store said when he comes to sell these nails to him,” Heard said.

>> Man who escaped from New Jersey prison in 2019 arrested south of Dayton

Officers said Dyson bought the nails last Thursday and on Sunday they caught Dyson throwing the nails in two different areas of Springdale. Officers then saw him doing the same thing in Sharonville and West Chester.

They gathered up the nails, gave them a black light test and they matched.

“With the box that he bought that we marked it was actually 400 pounds of nails since December of 23,” Heard said.

That comes out to about $1600, according to Heard.

>> Victims detail ‘cruel’ behavior after local dog training business charged with theft, neglect

Tom Edwards, who lives in Springdale, has had to replace all four tires in one year due to the scattered nails.

“I just heard on the news that they got him. It’s just been going on and on and on and it amounted hundreds of dollars just for me i know it was thousands for other folks,” Edwards said.

While Dyson being caught is a relief for people like Edwards, officers said they continue to pursue many more cases of nails in tires.

“We’d like to think this is the end of it and that would be great I don’t, he will be out, I know he was charged once before and he’s continued on so we don’t know,” Heard said.

While Dyson is being held in Hamilton County Jail, even if he posts bond, he now has a warrant in West Chester where he is being accused of doing this last year, and once again on Sunday.

©2024 Cox Media Group