Posted on 05/26/2009 9:27:18 AM PDT by SwinneySwitch
Family worries about neighbors target shooting
LIVE OAK(County) Eight-year-old Mikayla Molohon likes playing on her swing set in the breezy Lake Meadows Subdivision near the banks of the Nueces River.
Until the shooting starts.
Then her grandparents, Sparkey and Jan Osborn, call Mika inside to watch television or play with her toys. The Osborns two Doberman pinschers become anxious, and Sparkey Osborns occasional migraines pound worse with the shooting.
Mika and her sister, Colleen, 13, arent allowed in the front yard at all because the Osborns are never sure when the guns might go off.
Two of their neighbors, the Herradas across the street and the Valentines down the road, have dirt berms on their property and regularly practice shooting their guns, as often as once a week during competition training, Jan Osborn said. The Osborns worry that a ricochet or bad shot could hit their home.
I usually stay back here by myself and I dont get into my neighbors business, Sparkey Osborn said recently on his back porch overlooking the river. But I dont want to put my family in danger.
After several years of worrying, and spurred by the story of a 7-year-old Hays County boy who died from a stray bullet, the Osborns have sued both neighbors and are asking for stricter gun laws in Live Oak County to bar shooting in residential areas.
Herman Herrada and John Valentine say in court filings they have never missed their berms and the dirt piles are free from any material that could cause a ricochet. They say their lines of fire extend over open fields away from the Osborn residence and that the suit amounts to harassment.
The Osborns are asking for a permanent injunction to stop both men from firing on their property. The argument hinges on the subdivisions deed restrictions, which bar nuisance activities.
The Osborns lost a request for a temporary injunction in November and a hearing is set for June 5 on the request for permanent injunction. Neighbors have lined up on each side of the dispute, with several expected to testify that Valentine and Herrada are safe shooters, and another handful filing statements with the court that shooting bothers them but they wish to remain anonymous to keep a harmonious relationship.
Both the Osborns say they are not against guns but what they call irresponsible gun use. Jan Osborn is a member of the National Rifle Association, and Sparkey Osborn has used a gun to defend his home. This is not a constitutional issue to them.
What you can do when you have no neighbors is different from what you can do when you live in a community, Jan Osborn said.
The beginning
The Osborns moved from San Antonio to Port Aransas in 1988 to escape another kind of threat. Sparkey Osborn had shot an intruder in their home, and the reputed gang member survived and vowed revenge. Osborn said he lived in fear of a drive-by, and the incident left him with post-traumatic stress disorder.
Then in late 2002 the couple moved from Port Aransas to Live Oak County to be nearer their daughter and grandchildren. Herrada and Valentine already lived in the subdivision and had constructed their shooting berms in 1988 and 1996, respectively, according to the suit.
When we first moved there, we didnt realize the dirt pile across the street from us was a shooting berm, Jan Osborn said. We just thought it was a pile of dirt to use for filling in holes.
Valentine and Herrada practice shooting at the berms at competition distances of 7, 15 and 25 yards. Valentine is a certified instructor in the use of explosives and firearms at Del Mar College, Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi and the Corpus Christi Police Academy. Herrada is a retired Department of Corrections officer who served 23 years in the Air Force.
Sparkey Osborn, a former construction worker who suffers from chronic back pain and migraine headaches, likes to relax on his back patio in one of the few comfortable chairs he can find. But the shooting makes him anxious and forces him inside.
Its turned into worse than waiting for a drive-by, Osborn said, turning to point to his front window. The ricochet could come right in the window there where my grandchildren watch TV.
The Osborns say they were determined to be good neighbors. They put up with the shooting for years. Then a bullet from a third neighbor, who was shooting at a tree stump, ended up in the trailer next door to the Osborns, nearly in the line of fire of their grandchildrens swing set.
Though that neighbor agreed to stop shooting and has since moved, the stray bullet heightened the Osborns anxiety.
So when the couple heard in April 2007 that a 7-year-old boy from Hays County was killed by a stray bullet while playing on his trampoline, they had an epiphany.
I thought, Its time for this to stop, Sparkey Osborn said.
The law
The Osborns called the Live Oak County Sheriffs Office to see what could be done about the shooting. Though at least two deputies have come out, the couple are frustrated that no citations have been given.
Sheriff Larry Busby is expected to testify about Valentines safety record, according to court filings.
Busby said Thursday he inspected both berms in Lake Meadows Subdivision. He knows Valentine from competition shooting but has not used the berm, Busby said.
It seems to be safe to me, Busby said. I wouldnt have any problem shooting on it. I dont worry about it being a risk to anyone.
The Osborns have written U.S. Rep. Ruben Hinojosa and Sen. John Cornyn to ask for the Texas Rangers to step in and investigate. A spokesman for Hinojosa said staff are looking into the request but arent ready to comment, and Cornyns office had not received the letter as of last week.
Busby said he would have no problem with an outside investigation.
If there would have been any kind of risk, wed certainly have done something about it, he said. If he wants to call an outside agency to come in and check it, they can call. I wouldnt be surprised if they tell them they have more important things to do.
State law allows counties to regulate shooting on lots that are 10 acres or smaller and located in a subdivision in unincorporated areas of the county. Lots in Lake Meadows are around 1 acre or less.
After the boy was shot on his trampoline in Hays County, that commissioners court considered a law that would ban shooting on lots less than two acres. It failed by a 3-2 vote, but nearby Bastrop County passed a similar proposal for lots smaller than 5 acres.
The man who shot the boy told investigators he was target shooting when he hit the boy in a yard about a third of a mile away, according to the Austin American Statesman. He pleaded guilty Wednesday to manslaughter and was sentenced to eight years in prison.
Live Oak County Commissioner Jim Bassett said Thursday the Osborns had discussed a possible law with him, though the issue hasnt been formally presented to the court. He declined to comment further because of the lawsuit.
The case
Herrada answered his door for a reporter but declined to comment. Valentine refused to come to the door and hung up on a reporter. Both mens attorney, Michael Sartori of George West, said he did not want to comment beyond court filings.
In their court filings, Herrada and Valentine say they shoot in the direction of open fields and that their berms are large enough for recreational shooting. Their filings say Valentines berm is 24 feet wide, 18 feet thick and 7½ feet high and Herradas berm is 21 feet wide, 9 feet thick and 7 feet high. The Osborns dispute those numbers.
Valentine said he shoots a 1911 .45 automatic and a Smith & Wesson 357/38 model 66. Herrada said he has shot three pistols and a Remington 12-gauge shotgun.
The Osborns suit claims Valentine also occasionally fires a cannon, an assertion he denies in court papers.
The suit claims Valentine and Herrada cause a nuisance and violate the subdivisions deed restrictions, which state no noxious or offensive activity or anything which may be or may become an annoyance or nuisance to the neighborhood are allowed in the subdivision. The covenant was signed in 1979.
At least five neighbors have signed statements saying they also want the shooting to stop, though many requested their names not be used. David and Marla Scott, who own 90 acres surrounding the subdivision, plan to testify at the injunction hearing.
David Scott said their home is within 90 degrees of each shooting berm, and within 100 yards of Valentines berm. He also said his olive orchards are directly downrange from the berm.
If Im working, trying to get trees pruned and stuff, and he starts popping off rounds, Im not stupid, Scott said. Im not going to be directly downrange.
He also said friends and family always go inside or leave when they hear shooting start, and he makes his grandchildren come inside. Scott, who moved near the subdivision in 2002, said he has called the sheriffs office twice and visited with the district attorney and a private attorney, only to be told theres nothing he could do.
Even though what theyre doing may not be against the law, its not responsible for your neighbors, Scott said.
The Osborns son Christopher Osborn, a firefighter for a contractor in Iraq, also signed a statement saying that the shooting worries him because his 12-year-old daughter visits his parents.
I spend less than 30 days a year out of a war zone and need the peace and quiet of my home to relax and recuperate before having to return to my job in Iraq, Christopher Osborn wrote.
On the Herrada and Valentine side, two neighbors are expected to testify whether they feel the noise levels are a nuisance. Their attorney argues the claims are barred by a limitations clause, and that the subdivision deed restrictions allow recreational shooting.
Even if the Osborns win a permanent injunction at the June 5 hearing, Jan Osborn said the couple still want a new law.
I really feel weve been let down by the sheriffs office, she said. I feel weve been let down by the county, and I feel weve been let down by the state.
No, they aren't shooting into neighbor's land. They are saying that open fields are downrange from their berm.
The actual owner of the land that is downrange has not claimed that any stray bullets are going past the berm.
Again, they weren’t firing anything on to their neighbors property. Stop it with the lies.
But isn’t a park bench mine too? Isn’t a sidewalk? Why do smokers want to infringe on the rights of others?
Why is that so hard to understand?
I enjoy the sound of my neighbors shooting.
One of them has a new gun that sounds like the hammer of Thor smiting the earth when it goes off. One of these days I’m going to amble over there and see if he’ll let me shoot it.
I don’t think bullets normally used for target shooting travel far enough to require 25 square miles. Just no homes or other habitation within the distance the rounds could travel and in the direction in which they are fired. IMO individual rights extend to all people.
If you don't like freedom, move to France.
My guess is, with only a 7ft berm (their words) with lots of houses around, these guys are irresponsible and I’d want them out of my neighborhood ASAP, there are a lot of irresponsible gun nuts in the US and my guess is these guys will be found to qualify ...
If they are practicing for tactical competitions (i.e. IDPA or IPSC), very few ranges allow drawing from a holster and rapid fire.
Been there, done that.
People still say this?
Did I not say in the end they will lose, the neighbors statement was he was scared they were going to hit him. What is wrong that some of you have no regards for personal property rights?
Please don’t assume that everyone siding with the homeowners concerns are Leftists, particularly here on FR.
I’m getting older. It happens...
Bingo!!!!
I’m sure such a comment would make those in harms way feel secure, I become more and more convinced of the gun lunancy all the time, I’m a hard core conservative with common sense, and I think this is stupid, shooting into fields with no backstop is dangerous, period. Having only a 7ft tall berm is dangerous, period.
I am siding with property Rights. These two have a Right to shoot on their land. If they damage someone else's person or property, then we already have laws dealing with that.
Until then, piss off...
I wonder if you would feel the same way if a bunch of hip-hop artists bought the property next door and decided to practice their music with the volume wide open.
Somehow I suspect “freedom” would start to take on a differnet meaning.
Already throwing out the “N” word, eh? That was quick. Seems rather DU.
Sneaky turds.
Already throwing out the N word, eh? That was quick. Seems rather DU.
Keep your teeth together newbie. If you actions fit, then so does the definition.
Didn’t know Ozzie was into guns. Just biting off chickens’ heads.
Why do you want to invade someone else’s property with noise and racket? Don’t you respect other peole’s property?
Seems rather facist.
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