(File Photo by Kevin Mathewson, Kenosha County Eye)
KENOSHA COUNTY, Wis. — Nearly three weeks after bullets allegedly whizzed past the heads of golfers at Strawberry Creek Golf Course, no criminal charges have been filed against a 48-year-old Trevor man who authorities say was target shooting with his two sons, ages 12 and 13, on property north of the course. One Kenosha County Sheriff’s deputy asked that the man be charged with second-degree recklessly endangering safety, a Class G felony that carries up to five years of initial confinement in prison if convicted.
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22 Responses
Poor golfers
Stupid comment. Don’t all lives matter?
Every gun owner needs to know their target and beyond. Gun safety 101.
His handicap is his brain .
Why isn’t this man being charged with reckless behavior with a gun?! Someone could of got shot and killed! Does the sheriff know this man personally? It doesn’t make sense. If I or anyone else did this we would get charges. I don’t blame the golfers for being upset!
You can’t destroy lives for a “maybe”, “could have” or “what if” situation just because it involved a gun, yet turn a blind eye to our legal system (kellum) letting OWI, unlicensed or inattentive (texting) drivers off easy. Imagine that we give a five year prison term to every idiot driver “using a phone” or “just had a couple drinks” because someone had a close call and could’ve been hurt/killed. Automobiles are also a weapon in the wrong hands.This father was foolish and doesn’t know how to safely handle firearms and was a bad example to his kids. That doesn’t mean he should lose everything (job, family, property) when no one was hurt. Should he be punished? YES! He should surrender all weapons and pay a big fine.
Let’s ask these same golfers how many times they “maybe”, “could have” or “possibly” drove home from the creek after putting down a 12 pack during a round of 18….then went to the brat stop for a few more. Same scenario, they made it home but didn’t kill anyone.
I’m with you, he should be punished, but not to a felony level.
Cry me a river.
This is a teachable moment. Maybe this guy and his kids should attend a mandatory class in hunter safety, apologize to the poor golfers and explain to a court (in detail) everything they learned from the course. Or treat them the same as a drunk driver (which is equally dangerous if not causing a death). The deputy that wants a felony is a moron since no one was injured. If someone had actually been shot…..then screw them to wall. You can’t throw the book at folks for a maybes and what if’s without intent to cause harm. This was accidental stupidity by a dad and his sons.
To the people saying “poor golfers”, I’d love to see you say the same thing if that was your family member who heard the bullet fly past their ear. I hope your family members never have to experience anything that traumatic (or worse) because they clearly would get zero support from you. The gun owner should be punished to the fullest extent of the law for his gross negligence.
Go golf in the city, we live in the country where people are welcome to shoot their guns. The people shooting sure could use a lesson in safety but not their livelihood.
Keep your golf balls off Hy. 50 mk? I can’t duck while driving!
I saw a woman who had to pull a stroller out of the way, preventing a high speed ebike rider from striking her child on the tremper trail. The baby could’ve been killed had the stroller been hit. It may not have been a gun but I’m sure that mother was even more pissed than these golfers. Does the teen on the ebike deserve prison time even though no one was hurt?
Yes
…. Shoots Bullets into a Forest towards a Golf Course and Nobody was around to hear it, did the bullets make a sound ??
Joke aside, this dad made a mistake, a big mistake ! He should be barred from owning or shooting a gun for years. It’s up to the judge to determine how many. The mandatory loss of this privilege should be a big part of his sentence
…. Or citations should follow to the property owner.
To not only allow someone to shoot on his property but not provide a safe place to do it makes him liable for those actions.
If he told the shooter that the trees would work as a back stop then he needs mandatory training too.
Both ADULTS involved need to be cited
The DA office moves slow on charging via summons. This is not new. The legal system is bogged down and moves at a snail’s pace.
So there are several issues here. YES, the father needs to be punished in some manner. However, what is the evidence? You have complaints, you have feelings, but what evidence? One golfer said a bullet fell next to him, did anyone (including law enforcement) recover any bullets? Multiple people said bullets went past them or over their heads. Have they ever been in a war zone or a civillian gun battle? Do they even know (other than televisions portrayal) what that sounds like, or did they just hear rapid fire loud gunshots? Other than the fathers statements to police, how do you prove he fired the shots and not the kids? The kids would be processed through the juvenile judicial system. But you have to have proof and an identifiable offeneder. Some one mentioned the land owner. He doesn’t have criminal culpability, though he may have some civil liability.
Bottom line, the father was recklessly stupid and is very lucky no one was injured or killed. The father and the kids need some type other REAL gun safety education, but we will see if a case can be made for a significant criminal prosecution.
You are “Asking Where is the Evidence” ?
If that requires a metal detector to scan those areas that would probably be rather identifiable than it’s up to “someone” to do that and pay for it.
Will the “victims” pay ? Probably not.
Is the golf course going to pay ? I doubt it.
But was does need to happen is this property owner needs to be told that without a proper backstop, shooting on his property is prohibited.
But from personal experience I know that the only shooting laws on private property (20 years ago) was that you had to be a certain distance from another person’s house.
I’m sure that wouldn’t come into play here.
As for the kids doing the shooting, don’t the laws put everything on the supervising adult either way ?
Everyone got lucky that day. Nobody got shot. Nobody was determined to have killed anyone. Everyone walked away with lessons learned.
Still this needs some action against the shooters.
Gives new meaning to Shotgun Start in golf.
Plain ignorant. The woods are a backstop? Not if the bullets miss the trees.
No criminal intent. An accident. Let it go.
No criminal intent. An accident. Let it go.
I maybe would have been arrested a dozen times as a juvenile for such. Let it go!
pro tip……if you were subjected to bullets flying by while playing golf in what should be a safe area, just pretend you’re in a democrat controlled city and it won’t bother you anymore.