Monument contractor Daniel Nail takes plea deal as he faces new charges

The Monument-area contractor accused of defrauding more than a dozen former clients out of tens of thousands of dollars just entered into a plea deal after violating his parole and going missing for several weeks.

We’ve been investigating Daniel Nail for weeks, and he’s facing so many charges, it is hard to keep track. He’s been charged with distributing drugs, felony menacing, weapons possession, violation of parole, and harassment.

But two new charges for violent crimes have been filed, according to court documents. Nail faces additional charges of assault/strangulation, and violent crime intended to cause death or serious bodily injury.

Those felonies recently brought on by the DA’s office are sentence enhancers, which means they may increase the length of Nail’s sentence.

This week Nail pleaded guilty to distribution of a controlled substance, plus felony menacing.

So where does this leave all of these victims we introduced you to?

You may remember our team broke this story months ago uncovering complaints of fraud in all parts of the state.

“It was a huge financial hit for me,” said Mary DePace, one of the many victims.

“I lost $30K… I lost $40K… I lost $20K” said many of Nail’s former employees, accusing him of not paying them for their work.

All of those victims are planning to file formal charges related to the fraud accusations. The District Attorney’s office won’t comment on the cases until their officially filed. It’s not clear if they will be entitled to restitution.

Nail will be sentenced February 20.

Probable Cause Affidavit

Disturbing details hidden in the probable cause affidavits for Nail explain much more about what led up to his arrest: the attempted murder and assault of his wife.

It turned out to be just the beginning of a long crime spree for Nail.

The documents state on July 23rd, Nail told his wife, Britni, “he would kill her.

Officers said Brittni told them she was strangled, beaten, choked, and hit on the head approximately 6 times before blacking out.

But Nail, never plead guilty to any of it.

Which is why criminal defense attorney Pat Mika – said it’s likely the DA’s office will use this as a possible “sentence enhancer.”

“Sentence enhancers serve one purpose and one purpose only, and that is to keep the public safe from somebody who has demonstrated that they cannot live within the rules of society,” said Mika.

Nail continued to fit that description. Just a few months after the reported assault — a former employee came to his home to get paid for more than $7,000 of work, and nail threatened him with a semi-automatic hand gun.

Police later found more than 30 grams of meth, and more than 98 grams of cocaine at his home.

“It looks as though he’s facing an 8 year to 32 year potential sentence of the department of correction with a mandatory 5 year parole,” he said.

A sentence that wouldn’t even consider, the fraud charges that are coming.