Last Thursday night, Boulder County was rattled by an incident involving firearms and juvenile trespassers. According to the Boulder County Sheriff's Office, deputies responded to a call at 6:55 p.m. about a trespassing complaint in the 3000 block of 63rd St. The situation escalated when it was reported that an adult male fired a rifle towards the group of five minors.
Deputies were able to locate a vehicle matching the description given quickly and pursued it northbound on 61st St. from Valmont Rd. Inside the vehicle, they found 50-year-old Kurt Erickson, who was arrested without incident. A .22 LR rifle, a spent casing, and narcotics were collected as evidence. In an unsettling detail to the story, it was discovered that the juveniles were not trespassing on Erickson's property, but rather on a neighboring lot.
Erickson is facing several charges, including one count of unlawful possession of opium or its derivative, five counts of menacing with a gun, one count of prohibited use of a weapon, five counts of reckless endangerment, and two counts of child abuse. Despite these serious accusations, it must be emphasized that all charges are just allegations, with the accused presumed innocent until proven otherwise in a court of law.
The minors involved were fortunate to escape physical harm but were warned for their trespass and returned to their parents.
