A Minnesota man has been formally charged after placing a homemade spike strip on his property in an attempt to deter children from riding their bikes through his yard.
Kyle James Steffen, 39, of Wyoming, was officially charged with one gross misdemeanor count of setting a spring gun, pitfall, deadfall or snare, which carries a potential penalty of up to 180 days in jail and a fine of $1,000. The charges stem from an incident in April when police were called to his house after a neighbor reported that Steffen was yelling at her children. When officers arrived on scene, they found a long strip of thick plastic embedded in the grass with roughly 40 three-inch screws protruding upwards from the device. Investigators also noted bicycle tracks in the yard, which they believed was a common route taken by children as a shortcut to a nearby park.
Steffen admitted to placing the device in his yard in an attempt to deter children from riding across his property. He told police he hoped to scare the children, not hurt them, although officers noted that Steffen seemed disappointed the device had not proved effective.
Right To Defend Your Property
Did Steffen take it too far, or were his actions reasonable considering that he had clearly already attempted to settle the trespassing issue in less aggressive ways? While it’s not nearly as extreme as the Little Falls killings, this case also asks the question, how far can a homeowner go to protect their property?
We can all empathize with Steffen’s frustration, but does that justify the creation of a spike strip that clearly intended to cause physical damage and could have very easily caused injury to children? That’s for the court to decide, and we’ll keep tabs on the case as it plays out. He is due to make his initial court appearance on August 25.
There is an expectation of reasonableness when it comes to handling these kinds of issues. A reasonable person would have likely talked to the kids, then talked to their parents, posted no trespassing signs, captured videos of continued offenses and then gone to police or once again talked with parents showing the clear legal violation and expressing an interest of pursuing charges with police if the children continued to ride bikes through his lawn. Creating homemade spike strips that are obviously designed to cause property or physical damage may not be considered a reasonable and legal response to the issue, no matter how frustrated Steffen was with the situation.
The issue will clearly have strong opinions on both sides, and it will be interesting to see how a jury views his actions. However the case resolves, hopefully it’s clear for all parties that cycling through the property en route to the playground needs to stop.
If you find yourself in a tricky legal situation, make sure you have a strong legal defense on your side. Pick up the phone and connect with Avery and the team at Appelman Law Firm today at (952) 224-2277.
