Cape Coral residents suspect deliberate tire damage from scattered nails and screws

CAPE CORAL, Fla. —

Neighbors along Southwest Ninth Avenue by Southwest 35th Street in Cape Coral have been repeatedly finding nails and screws on the road, leading to tire damage and raising suspicions of intentional acts.

Roberto Santos, a resident, has started an unusual collection of nails and screws, not from a hardware store, but from the road outside his home.

"So, usually on this corner here, this happened multiple times," Santos said.

Santos and several neighbors have had to replace their tires multiple times.

"I have to replace six tires on the last few months," he said. "The people in the tire shop know me by name."

Cape Coral mechanic Jamie Martin from George's Complete Auto Repair said this is, unfortunately, common in the area.

"I've sold four tires to somebody, and they come back the next day, and they explain to me that there's a nail or some debris in their tire, and they just got them yesterday," he said.

He explained how costly tire repairs can be, ranging from $35 to $50, but a new set of tires could cost between $1,200 and $1,500.

Residents are concerned because they rarely see construction crews or trucks in the area, and the screws are consistently spread out between the same streets, leading them to believe the acts are deliberate.

"We filed a couple police reports, and they say all this might have fallen from a truck, but this is not the case," Santos said. "Not when it happened over and over in the last few months, every other week."

Neighbors said the Cape Coral Police Department is asking for photo or video evidence to determine whether the incidents are due to negligence or something more intentional.

Santos is now keeping a camera ready.

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