Last week there was a jury trial in District Court. The defendant, Mr. Bruce Tenut was charged with one count of Reckless Endangerment. The charge arose out of an incident that occurred in April of this year, when Mr. Tenut was shooting a very large handgun on his property. The weapon discharged when pointed at a neighbor’s and passed through the wall of the house and damaged some furniture in the house. The neighbor was standing in the yard when the shot occurred. The jury heard evidence for part of two days and then deliberated for about 4 hours before returning a verdict of not guilty.
This is another incident involving neighbors who do not get along very well with each other. When people must share an easement or a property line, little irritations develop which, over time, grow to be larger and larger. These can escalate into situations where something happens, which, under normal circumstances might be excused or passed over, but because of the hatred and fear that has developed between the parties, becomes something much more serious.
Some of these problems finally develop into dangerous conduct which leads to threats of violence and violence in the form of fights or in some situations, shooting. Some of the most dangerous problems that law enforcement officers face are over domestic violence and the problems that develop over land line and easement disputes. We would all do well to do the best we can to make sure we treat each other the way we would want to be treated. This certainly would go a long way toward the goal of a safe and peaceful life.
This wisdom has been around for a very long time, but in this world of increasing problems and stressful problems, it is often forgotten.