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So I'm pretty rural. I like it largely because I think that the property I own should be mine and relatively unfettered by overly-zealous neighbors that might care what shade of brown I stain my fence.
Rural has worked well. In 6 years, our neighborhood has has zero crime that I know about... That pales in comparison to any suburban area I've ever lived where you're in trouble if the garage door stays open.

So that changed. I came home from vacation to find a neighbors exterior lights shot up, various planters shot up around the perimeter, and one security camera that has been shot.
Example:


The camera was shot from a 90 degree angle and I don't have another camera that covers it, but I spent a number of hours going through a month worth of video.. After watching for about 3 hours, we spotted something..

This is what I found:




Kids walk right past the camera with a rifle of some type.. And have the nerve to actually shoot the camera from the front!

I've never seen these kids before, we don't have very many kids out here... But I manage to track one of them down via a combination of social media and local moms. I debate what to do for a while.. I was a dumb kid once. I don't want to get them arrested, but I can't let them walk either, so I go to the parents of kid #A, which is the only one I've identified.

Kid A's mom says that he wasn't out with any friends that day. Kid A says that he didn't do any property damage (that's what I told his dad). Basically the parents say that it wasn't him. So I provide video. The kid then changes the story. His friends were shooting things, not him - matches the video. It was the other kids. I've only got video of a single kid doing the shooting, even though 2 were carrying.

I get an in-person apology 24 hours later and the phone number of the dad of the "shooter". I simply tell him that "they" (all the kids) need to figure this out and that I was giving them 24 hours to call me with what happened, otherwise I'm going to take it to the local sheriff. I get a call from kid B's dad that evening. Kid B's dad says that his kid was over in my neighborhood, but his kid didn't remember any property damage. I promise photos and dad tells me if they match that Kid B will be over the next morning at 10:30 AM to pay for a broken camera and repair the light as he just got paid. 10:30am comes and goes. I call kid B's dad at 3pm. Apparently the photos helped kid B's memory quite a bit and it is his kid, but he was "unavailable" to come over - he was staying at a friends house (what?).. And he won't be by to take care of any of the damage until for another week or so because he doesn't get paid until then (what?).

Kid B and Kid B's dad have different last names. And I know that Kid B just got in some trouble at school, so I don't think Kid B is a particularly good kid... And maybe "dad" doesn't have a handle on him. If I land Kid B in jail, that's mainly going to be a burden on the parents, so I'm not sure that I want to do that.

I remind kid B's dad that I don't want to make legal trouble for his kid.. And I remind him that most of my neighbors are armed and that had this stuff occurred at night, it could have had very serious consequences. I'm the *least* xenophobic person in the neighborhood - lots of 20+ year neighbors that live there for the privacy... And they take stuff like this very seriously.

All 3 of these kids are on the varsity football team.

I don't entirely get it.. Had I lied to my father and damaged property, my rear would have been hauled in from wherever I was world-wide...

Suggestions for next steps?

You've been more than generous in this situation. I say call the sheriff.

I say this as someone that did something really stupid at 16...if I had not been caught and punished, who knows how I would have turned out.

The property damage is just criminal mischief and would not land him in jail as the amount of the damage would not be above a misdemeanor level. The sheriff will make the report, take the video and photo evidence, and then the go write the kid a ticket.

I would call back one more time and tell him they have 24 hours to make restitution or the sheriff will be contacted.

It's probably a Class-A or Class-B misdemeanor, depending on what else they did down the road... Making sure: They'll just ticket?

If it is less than $50, class C misdemeanor. More than $50 and less than $500, Class B, and less than $1500 a Class A. They might arrest him but it is not a jail felony unless more than $1500.

I would tell them that if restitution was not forthcoming by 'x'pm the next day, I would be calling the Sheriff at 'x':00:01pm. Then do it.

First these aren't kids. They are young men and by this age their inclination to do something like this is beyond mischief and hoodlum behavior. It's criminal and shows a careless disregard for other's property and given their willingness to lie it will probably be typical behavior in the future. Sounds as though you're getting the run around. A call to the police would be my next step.

It's one thing to keep the law out of it and teach them a lesson, but it doesn't sound like that's going to work on these idiots - or their parents. I'd call the sheriff and let the boys deal with that so A) they realize what they did is wrong and maybe settle down and B) there's a record so when they screw up again it won't be their first time.

The angel on one shoulder says 24 hours has passed. Call the Sheriff and provide the evidence. Keep copies just in case. Between lights, camera and planters there's probably a couple hundred dollars worth of property damage, but I would push for deadly conduct charges for firing at a habitation. That should interest the authorities in a low crime area, if not the big city.

You don't want to know about the suggestions from the other shoulder.

Sheriff...bazinga.

You handled it very well. Shame on the parents for not making this a learning experience for these young men!

Time to teach them all a lesson! Take it all to the sheriff immediately, you are being played. They had their chance and now the kids aren't even made to come and apologize in person AND make arrangements for restitution?!

You better believe that I would have hauled my kid over immediately! No going to a friend's house, no way, not for a very very long time, gun would be gone until 21. WT heck, the bullets could have strayed!

I'm outraged on your behalf. You have been a gentleman about it and they can't be bothered. I'm sad that these parents are so weak, I'm disgusted by it actually. Time for a reality check from the sheriff for both parents and young men.

CHLLady wrote:... Shame on the parents for not making this a learning experience for these young men!

... They had their chance and now the kids aren't even made to come and apologize in person AND make arrangements for restitution?!
... I'm sad that these parents are so weak, I'm disgusted by it actually. Time for a reality check from the sheriff for both parents and young men.

If I have a loved one who is an alcoholic, I am actually harming them instead of helping them if I turn a blind eye to their self-harming actions. The truly loving act is to let the natural consequences of their behavior help them to see the error of their ways.

Similarly,since the parents are obviously enabling poor behavior, I believe the truly loving act (from a Christian love viewpoint) would be to report them to the sheriff so they face their natural consequences now when they are relatively minor.

Jumping Frog wrote:

CHLLady wrote:... Shame on the parents for not making this a learning experience for these young men!

... They had their chance and now the kids aren't even made to come and apologize in person AND make arrangements for restitution?!
... I'm sad that these parents are so weak, I'm disgusted by it actually. Time for a reality check from the sheriff for both parents and young men.

If I have a loved one who is an alcoholic, I am actually harming them instead of helping them if I turn a blind eye to their self-harming actions. The truly loving act is to let the natural consequences of their behavior help them to see the error of their ways.

Similarly,since the parents are obviously enabling poor behavior, I believe the truly loving act (from a Christian love viewpoint) would be to report them to the sheriff so they face their natural consequences now when they are relatively minor.

After reconsideration, I agree. Call the sheriff. They had their chance. Its about the parents (and lack of parenting) now as well.

CHLLady wrote:You handled it very well. Shame on the parents for not making this a learning experience for these young men!

Time to teach them all a lesson! Take it all to the sheriff immediately, you are being played. They had their chance and now the kids aren't even made to come and apologize in person AND make arrangements for restitution?!

You better believe that I would have hauled my kid over immediately! No going to a friend's house, no way, not for a very very long time, gun would be gone until 21. WT heck, the bullets could have strayed!

I'm outraged on your behalf. You have been a gentleman about it and they can't be bothered. I'm sad that these parents are so weak, I'm disgusted by it actually. Time for a reality check from the sheriff for both parents and young men.

I whole heartedly agree with Cali. It's grow-up time for these juvenile delinquents and their er,...uh parents. By not bringing the issue/s to the authorities, you are enabling them to commit additional and perhaps more serious deeds. Press charges!

If their football coach is anything like ours I would set up a meeting with video in hand.