Austin police think they've solved a case that's seen hundreds of tires slashed in the Hyde Park neighborhood.
56-year-old Tommy Joe Kelley has been charged with four counts of unlawful use of a criminal instrument, based on four earlier encounters with APD officers.
"And in those four occasions, he was found to be in possession of a metal handmade tool, that we believe he created to allow him to puncture the sidewalls of tires very quickly and easily," Detective Eric Hodeski told KUT News.
Law enforcement authorities say Kelley has been charged in connection with tire slashings from the past two years. But police have suspected him of being responsible for damage to hundreds of tires in Hyde Park since 1994.
