A man in Weld County, UK may face two felony charges for allegedly dumping nails and screws on a county road and then attempting to deceive the police. Gary Winters caused thousands of dollars in damage and used a fake name to make a false report. He confessed to the crimes and cited frustration with traffic as his motive. Winters is scheduled for a hearing on December 21st. Chris Bolin reported
Man Faces Felonies for Dumping Nails and Screws on County Road
A 55-year-old man named Gary Winters may be charged with two felonies after being accused of intentionally spreading nails and screws on Weld County Road 29, located west of Eaton. This act of vandalism caused significant damage amounting to thousands of dollars. Additionally, Winters allegedly attempted to mislead the police by reporting a fake incident and providing false information, resulting in another felony charge for attempting to influence a public servant.
The police began gathering evidence in April after receiving multiple complaints about nails and screws being found on Weld County Road 29, spanning from Weld 74 to Colo. 14. One resident living in the 39000 block of Weld 29 reported finding nails in his driveway frequently, causing damage to his truck tire and trailer tires. He pointed the police towards Winters, as Winters had previously called the police on the resident several times due to personal disputes.
Further investigation revealed that Winters had driven through Weld 29, passing a license plate reader, on various occasions when nails and screws were discovered on the road. Witnesses reported seeing his truck passing by just before the incidents. The police also discovered that Winters had visited several hardware stores where he could have purchased the nails and screws used in the vandalism.
Upon confrontation, Winters initially denied any involvement but eventually admitted to his actions. He claimed that his frustration with the increase in traffic on Weld 29 led him to throw nails and screws on the road to slow down vehicles. However, Winters insisted that he was not a bad person.
Following Winters’ arrest, the police received a suspicious call about a truck throwing nails at a caller’s vehicle on Weld 29 and 76. The caller identified himself as Joel and provided a description of the suspect’s vehicle. However, no evidence of the incident was found, and the caller’s number was out of service. Further investigation revealed that the voice on the call matched Winters’ voice, confirming that he had made the fake report under the name Joel.
Winters is scheduled for an advisement hearing on the criminal mischief charges on December 21 at Weld District Court. The District Attorney’s office has until Monday afternoon to file additional charges for the false report made by Winters.
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