OKEECHOBEE COUNTY, Fla. — A 72-year-old Okeechobee County man has been arrested as part of months-long investigation called "Operation Nail Bandit."
The Okeechobee County Sheriff's Office (OCSO) says it arrested John Allan Starnes, who's accused of "repeated acts of sabotage" against Okeechobee County Fire Rescue Station 1 and the Emergency Operations Center.
Investigators say "Operation Nail Bandit," led by the Community Action Team (CAT), looked into a series of nails and sharp objects that were thrown behind fire rescue vehicles, causing damage and potentially slowing emergency response time. They say this activity spanned 19 months.
After surveilling Starnes for weeks, OCSO says they caught him in the act on July 10. After a traffic stop, Starnes confessed to six documented incidents.
"Tampering with fire rescue vehicles is not just criminal—it endangers every resident of this county," said Chief Deputy Michael Hazellief. "We are grateful no one was hurt, and proud of the focused work of our CAT team.”
Starnes was arrested and booked into Okeechobee County Jail. Bond will be set when he makes a first appearance in court.
