Selfless man only protecting home

I was saddened by Saturday’s article “Arlington man pleads guilty to shooting at teens.” My family has long been close friends and neighbors with Mr. Lane, and he has been always been a friendly and dependable presence in the community. He has always been selfless in his actions by donating hours doing landscaping projects for neighbors over the years, asking nothing in return. He hosts annual neighborhood events at his baseball field, which he also opened up to youth leagues to play on during the spring. During the winter, all of the neighborhood kids go sledding on his hill.

What the article fails to mention is that the teenagers were the ones breaking the law by trespassing on his property. It’s too easy to take sides with the frightened teenagers, but who knows what their real motives were? I think his actions were tolerable, given the recent nighttime vandalism to the baseball field he built himself in memory of the tragic death of his son. He was only trying to protect his family and property. He may have overreacted, but he was just trying to scare them off and certainly never meant to hurt anyone.

I hate the thought of someone as honest and decent as Mr. Lane going to prison. Two and a half years is far excessive a punishment, given that fortunately nobody was hurt. If he’d killed one of them, that might make sense. At the very least, I hope his reputation and integrity can be preserved through this.

Marc Dewey

Marysville