It was a shot in the dark — or rather many shots in the dark.
For the past two years, residents at Colonial Heritage have complained about frequent gunfire coming from a nearby property. Last month, the residents banded together to confront their representatives about the problem.
Taking a stand paid off Tuesday when the James City County Board of Supervisors approved an ordinance to amend county code to regulate gunfire the retirement community of Colonial Heritage.
In a unanimous decision, Supervisors voted to prohibit the discharge of firearms near the Lightfoot subdivision.
Colonial Heritage residents packed into the meeting Tuesday, forcing some residents to wait in the lobby of the county board room. Nearly 150 people attended in all.
Karl Muller, spokesman for concerned citizens of Colonial Heritage, spoke of the atmosphere of “fear.”
“As the board knows, there’s been frequent and persistent reports of gunfire for two years now,” he said. “Without exaggeration, thousands of rounds have been fired there… all within 400 feet of my home.”
Muller handed about 300 petitions from residents of Colonial Heritage to County Attorney Adam Kinsman.
“Tonight we need your help,” Muller said before asking the Supervisors to make “reasonable change.”
According to Kinsman, the adopted measure stops most recreational and target shooting within 800 feet of homes in Colonial Heritage, except on properties on the other side of Centerville Road.
Clash of constitutional rights
A clash between gun rights and property rights began April 20 when Charles Wittges, a homeowner in Colonial Heritage, called police to report that two bullets had struck his home.
“To me there’s no difference between a bullet hitting my house or hitting someone in the head,” Wittges said. “It was a matter of a few inches to the left it would have hit our headboard.”
Wittges, a 28-year veteran of the Army, said the random gunfire came to irritate him, but he had justified it as “the sound of freedom” he fought for during his four tours in Iraq — that is, until two bullets hit his home.
“This is a very typical escalation,” Wittges said before calling the technicality allowing the gunfire to continue a shame. That technicality is a part of county code which calls for fewer firearm regulations on family subdivisions, such as the 21-acre plot where the gunfire is said to have originated.
The land is owned by Otto Ripley, but according to letters sent by area residents to Stonehouse district Supervisor Sue Sadler, Otto Ripley’s grandson Aaron Ripley is said to occupy the land.
‘It’s my son being persecuted’
The ordinance is not without detractors, as members of the Ripley family came to the board meeting to speak against the ordinance.
Shirley Sulenski-Hughes, an area realtor, said she represented her father, Otto Ripley, and spoke against media reports about the gunfire.
“We choose not to use the media format because typically it fuels comments and opinions that do not always have all the facts,” Sulenski-Hughes said. “I’m not saying gunshots have not been shot.”
Sulenski-Hughes did not wish to comment on this story.
Sulenski-Hughes was not the only daughter of Ripley to appear before the supervisors, as Otto Ripley’s daughter Sandra spoke before the board.
Sandra Ripley cast doubt on the culpability of her son, Aaron Ripley, suggesting that it would have taken a marksman to shoot a home in the Winthrop Circle neighborhood.
“It’s my son being persecuted,” Sandra Ripley said before adding that her son’s firearm had been locked up in her safe since the “April incident.”
Aaron Ripley said in a Facebook message that he works hard and likes to “relax” by shooting his firearms within a “legal boundary.” He added he believes he has been falsely accused of the incident at the Wittges home.
The ordinance passed Tuesday prohibits the discharge of firearms on some properties within and abutting Colonial Heritage subdivisions, including the Ripley residence at 6277 Centerville Road.
Supervisor Michael Hipple said it was time for the area to begin the healing process.
“This is a step,” he said. “We can move forward and put all this behind us.”
WYDaily archives were used in this story
