A Grafton man who admitted that he dumped hundreds of nails and screws on Ozaukee County roads has been declared not guilty due to mental disease or defect.

Theodore Drazovic, 28, was charged Feb. 8 in Ozaukee County Circuit Court with five misdemeanor counts of criminal damage to property.

The court ordered a mental health evaluation for Drazovic in October. On Dec. 13, the court accepted a plea change from not guilty to no contest.   

According to a criminal complaint:

In 2020, Grafton police received 48 complaints about damage to vehicles. Complainants reported more than $7,000 in tire damage after they traveled on area roadways where nails and screws were subsequently found by Grafton police.

Police recovered nails on major roadways, side streets and entrances to apartment complexes and businesses.

Mequon officers collected nearly 900 nails at 16 intersections and businesses between May and December 2020.

On Dec. 28, 2020, a Mequon officer was dispatched to Lake Shore Drive at Donges Bay Road for complaints about debris in the road. At about the same time, a Grafton Ace Hardware employee called the Grafton Police Department and reported that Drazovic had purchased two boxes of nails earlier that day.

The call was relayed to a Mequon police sergeant.

While the Mequon officer headed toward the scene, an Ozaukee County sheriff's deputy and a Grafton officer spotted Drazovic driving on Falls Road in Grafton.

The deputy stopped Drazovic's vehicle and found an empty box that had held 2½-inch roofing nails in the vehicle. A detective confirmed that Drazovic had purchased the box of nails from the hardware store.

When police questioned Drazovic, he initially denied his involvement, but later admitted to a detective that he was responsible for spreading nails in Ozaukee County.

He told the detective that his purpose wasn’t to damage cars; rather, he believed he was being followed and would dump the nails when he felt threatened.

The court ordered his conditional release, with the state Department of Health Services to complete a conditional release plan. A hearing on his release is scheduled for Jan. 19.

Eddie Morales can be reached at 414-223-5366 or eddie.morales@jrn.com. Follow him on Twitter at @emoralesnews.