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WYOMING, Minn. (FOX 9) - A Wyoming, Minnesota, man faces charges after allegedly creating a spike strip lined with 3-inch screws along a popular path used by children to get to a nearby park in an effort to keep them off his lawn.
Homeowner creates spike strip along path
What we know:
Kyle James Steffen, 38, faces one count of setting a pitfall/deadfall/snare related to a complaint that authorities learned about last April.
According to charges filed in Chisago County, on April 28, 2026, the Wyoming Police Department received a complaint regarding spikes laid in a yard near Goodview Park.
Police say it was reported that a man at the nearest residence, identified as 6195 262nd Street, was yelling at her children to stay out of his yard when the device was spotted.
Dig deeper:
Charges state that when officers responded, they observed a 3-foot-long, 5-inch-wide piece of thick clear plastic set in the grass next to this residence, which borders the park.
Police say they found roughly 40, 3-inch screws sticking up from the plastic, with each screw placed about an inch apart. The plastic was anchored into the grass with metal pieces, so the screws stayed straight up, according to the charges.
Bike tracks were found running under and around the plastic piece, often running through his yard to the park as a shortcut.
Charges allege that the contraption was likely a homemade "spike strip designed to be a pitfall for neighborhood children."
What's next:
When speaking with police, Steffen allegedly admitted to placing the device to keep kids off of his lawn.
Charges state that he told officers "he has yelled at the kids hundreds of times, and they still biked through his yard out of spite."
Steffen told police that he did not intend to injure anyone, only to scare them away, and had become frustrated that the device was not effective in keeping kids off his lawn.
The Source: Information provided by charges filed in Chisago County.