DAYTON — Joshua Thomas now faces criminal charges after being accused of crashing his vehicle into a Dayton tattoo shop.
Thomas was arrested for a different crime in Miamisburg. The new charges stem from an incident where he’s accused of driving his vehicle into the Dayton Tattoo Company on Wilmington Pike.
The owner told News Center 7 that Thomas intentionally hit the building, and now Dayton Police and prosecutors agree.
The shop is boarded up, and the owner and employees have spent all week cleaning up the mess inside.
Thomas was identified by the owner as an ex-employee.
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Steve Salmons, who owns the tattoo shop, said, “I watched the camera and said it was Joshua Thomas.” He continued by saying, “I had four booths in the center; he destroyed those. He ran over the desk, crushed the artist’s toolboxes, their supplies, and ink.”
Salmons said he received information that Thomas was responsible for a similar event at Dayton Mart on Patterson Road in April, leading to his dismissal.
He said someone hit the store three times with a U-Haul. According to Salmons, that history meant he couldn’t relax until Thomas ended up in jail.
Miamisburg Police told News Center 7 Thomas threw a rock at a window of a store the day after the tattoo shop incident. They said Thomas then tried to break into a safe and did steal cigarettes. He was arrested hours later.
News Center 7 showed a picture of Thomas to employees at Dayton Mart, and they identified him as the man who hit their store.
Salmons said Thomas took being let go very personally and made his bad intentions clear.
“Yeah, threaten my life, threaten the lives of the employees, but he actually threatened to drive the vehicle through my shop,” Salmons said.
Prosecutors plan to present charges from Dayton and Miamisburg to the Grand Jury soon.
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