by Terri Wiebold

The Gardner family had lived in the Castle Pines North community less than one year when the problems began. Twice in the past year the Gardner’s house in King’s Crossing has been “egged”, once in February and again in May. In mid April, Joan Gardner was standing on her back deck watering her flowers when she was struck on the leg by a BB. She called the Douglas County Sheriff’s Office and filed a police report documenting the incident, but assumed it was an accident and an isolated event. Then in May, the Gardner family had a window broken in their house and they recovered a BB from the window. They again filed a police report documenting the incident.

It was not until the Gardners called Sunmaster Window Company to replace the window that they learned Sunmaster had replaced at least four other windows, from two additional homes in the immediate area, within the months of April and May. Three of the broken windows also had been egged.

“It would have been important to know earlier that others had been hit,” said Gardner. “We would have all taken it more seriously and worked together sooner.” Gardner’s hope is to get the word out to the entire community and get people talking about it. “Someone’s kids have to know something about it,” she said. Gardner encourages anyone who has had a similar incident to file a police report. “Two of the three victims in this case hadn’t called the police yet,” she said.

According to Captain Brad Heyden of the Douglas County Sheriff’s Office, “Depending on the manner in which a BB gun is used, it can be considered a deadly weapon. Punishment for a conviction resulting from a deadly-weapons charge could be 2-5 years imprisonment or a $2,000 - $500,000 fine, or both.”

While the Douglas County Sheriff’s Office is responsible for the safety of the residents within Douglas County, parents must take responsibility for the actions of minors.   If any of these activities are witnessed, residents are encouraged to contact respective Homeowner’s Associations (HOA) and the Douglas County Sheriff’s Office at 303-660-7505 to report the violations.  If the call is specific to BB gun damage in the King’s Crossing area, please reference police report # 0604848. For residents unsure which HOA to contact go to www.cpnhoa.org/master and drag the "Neighborhood HOA" bar.

“I hope parents realize what can happen if kids get caught doing these activities. I think many just don’t realize how serious this issue can be,” said Gardner.