Glenville, NY Man Tries to Stop Loud Dirt Bikers, But it Almost Turns Deadly?

A disturbance in a wooded area of the Capital Region nearly turned deadly over the holiday weekend.

Two teenagers were riding dirt bikes in a normally-quiet trail area in Glenville, New York, and that disturbed a nearby citizen. In an attempt to combat the disruption, the citizen turned violent, and the details of this case show that the teenagers may be lucky to be alive.

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Glenville, New York Man Arrested for Attempted Assault of Dirt Bike Riders

According to a story penned by CBS 6 here in Albany, 41-year-old Benjamin P. Jerome was arrested on Monday, September 5th, and accused of swinging a hatchet at two dirt bike riders that were disturbing a nature trail.

The incident took place at Hemlock Hollow nature trail near the Indian Kill Preserve, according to reports. The two riders, both under 20 years old, were accused of disturbing the natural environment by Jerome, who decided to take matters into his own hands.

Facebook user Richard Reed posted the following on his Facebook account:

It got worse from there, as Jerome fired a .22 caliber revolver at their bikes as they rode by, missing the drivers, but damaging one of the dirt bikes, which may have been the goal all along.

Regardless of intention, an arrest was made, and the following charges were levied:

• attempted assault
• reckless endangerment
• criminal possession of a weapon
• criminal use of a firearm
• criminal mischief
• menacing

Now, I can understand how actions of this type may anger a person, especially those who are environmentally-conscious. It's increasingly hard to find areas in nature that are peaceful, quiet, and largely untouched by the chaos of society. The more that we can do to preserve these types of environments for posterity, the better we all will be.

THAT ALL BEING SAID...this is FAR from the way to settle a dispute of this nature. At best, you can get the riders to dismount, and try to have a conversation with them. Yes, this is a pie-in-the-sky solution, but sometimes, it just may work.

At worst, you can call the same Glenville Police Department that ended up making the arrest, and take care of your issue that way. Either way, it definitely shouldn't have come to this.