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TJ Phaserman

89-year-old charged with keeping kids' ball

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BLUE ASH, Ohio – Police in Ohio say an 89-year-old woman is facing a charge of petty theft because neighborhood children accuse her of refusing to give back their football.

 

Edna Jester was arrested last week in the Cincinnati suburb of Blue Ash.

 

Police say one child's father complained that Jester kept the youngsters' ball after it landed in her yard. Police Capt. James Schaffer says there has been an ongoing dispute in the neighborhood over kids' balls landing in the woman's yard.

 

Jester said Monday she has received many calls and didn't have time to discuss the matter any more.

 

Jester is to appear in court next month. The maximum penalty for a petty theft conviction in Ohio is six months in jail and a fine of up to $1,000.

 

:inlove::congrats:

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That dad is a real piece of work - it's a sorry parent that would try to throw an elderly woman thrown in jail rather than to teach his children not to throw their toys in other people's yards. She should have the kids arrested for trespassing.

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Ball could be thrown in her yard by accident. The boy did not go in her yard and get the ball which would have been trespassing. She did not get arrest because of the father. She got arrested after the police asked her to return the ball with a promise to appear in court, and after she refused she got arrested. This was not the first time she has done with other balls that landed in her yard. There is on going problem where children can play.

 

The elder women does not own the ball. She could have let the boy get it with an apology from the boy now she is facing 6 months in jail with $1,000 dollar fine.

 

88-Year-Old Woman Arrested For Taking A Ball

Reported by: Adam Marshall

Photographed By: Adam Marshall

Web Produced By: Megan Wasmund

Last Update: 5:46 pm

 

(Adam Marshall, 9News) She took a teenager's ball and wouldn't give it back. Now 88-year-old Edna Jester from Blue Ash is facing charges.

 

"I said go ahead and arrest me. Handcuff me if you'd like, because I said I'm not guilty of anything," said Jester.

 

Thursday, Blue Ash Police arrested Jester for petty theft after taking her teenage neighbor's football that was in her yard.

The incident was caught on tape by people across the street who support Jester.

 

"Taken down and interrogated, a (near) 90 year-old lady. It almost hits home like this is the United States, this can't happen and this is absolutely ridiculous," said neighbor Kevin Pike.

 

Kelly Tanis has five children and says Jester has taken balls from her children before. So she called the police.

 

"This time it was a ball that my son had just bought with his own money. He works and he makes his own money, and he bought that ball, and six days later she took it."

 

Blue Ash Police say they didn't want to arrest Jester. Instead, they just wanted her to give the ball back.

 

Jester says that wasn't going to happen.

 

"I was giving it back sooner or later, but not right now so they could make a laughing stock out of me," Jester said.

 

Neighbors say the issue of where the kids should and shouldn't play has been ongoing for quite some time.

 

Jester was offered a chance by police to sign a ticket promising to appear in court, but she refused. Right or wrong, she is due in court Nov. 12.

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Depending on the statute of the state - throwing objects onto people's property does count as trespassing.

 

Granted, there is more to the story than can be gleaned from the article but it is apparent this is an ongoing problem and not all the neighbors agree with arresting the woman.

 

I also have to wonder why the kid didn't go after the ball - was there a fence or a dog - I mean an 89 year old woman isn't going to beat a teenager in a foot race to the ball. So there had to be some circumstance for them to leave the ball there.

 

The mere fact that it is on ongoing issue makes me doubt the ball went in her yard by accident. And it's obvious at least one parent isn't trying to keep her kids from the woman's yard. This parent says on her myspace page - (yeah there's a link to it on another website) that she has a problem with authority and she sounds pretty full of herself.

 

I also suspect, given the ongoing nature of the problem, an apology from the kid would have been meaningless since he obviously intended to do it again. Her words suggest the youths' may have been doing more than just throwing the ball but also taunting or making a sport of harassing her. If this was the first time it happened it would be different - the same as if it were a small child rather than a teenager.

 

If one of my neighbors told me to keep my kids out of her yard (including throwing objects into her yard) I would tell them to stay away from her yard. And I would call the neighbor and ask for the ball back before I called the police.

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UH, you are making a lot assumptions even from my own article.

 

Depending on the statute of the state - throwing objects onto people's property does count as trespassing.

 

I find that hard to believe.

 

Granted, there is more to the story than can be gleaned from the article but it is apparent this is an ongoing problem and not all the neighbors agree with arresting the woman.

No one wanted the woman arrested even the police. All of them wanted the ball given back.

 

I

also have to wonder why the kid didn't go after the ball - was there a fence or a dog - I mean an 89 year old woman isn't going to beat a teenager in a foot race to the ball. So there had to be some circumstance for them to leave the ball there.

 

Good point.

 

The mere fact that it is on ongoing issue makes me doubt the ball went in her yard by accident. And it's obvious at least one parent isn't trying to keep her kids from the woman's yard. This parent says on her myspace page - (yeah there's a link to it on another website) that she has a problem with authority and she sounds pretty full of herself.

 

I read her Myspace page and she said other believe that she has a problem with authority. Without knowing the person I don't know if she is full of herself. She bring good points on her blog.

 

I also suspect, given the ongoing nature of the problem, an apology from the kid would have been meaningless since he obviously intended to do it again. Her words suggest the youths' may have been doing more than just throwing the ball but also taunting or making a sport of harassing her. If this was the first time it happened it would be different - the same as if it were a small child rather than a teenager.

 

We don't know the nature of the on going problems and how they have been going on.

 

If one of my neighbors told me to keep my kids out of her yard (including throwing objects into her yard) I would tell them to stay away from her yard. And I would call the neighbor and ask for the ball back before I called the police.

 

I would have done the same. But boys will boys and they will throw the ball around. If they don't have a park that is near by where are kids going to play. There is always the video games.

 

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I am more bother with the fact these 2 neighbors can't get along. It has come done someone calling the police over a ball. Maybe did it on youth intended to throw it in yard or not. The fact they can't live with each is far more troubling in my opinion. My father is his mid 70's and is in similar situations, but he handles if far differently with better results. Every single ball get he returns to the parents and have a friendly chat. When my father got the flu last year it was the same parents who look after my father. I really hope the judge drops the charges.

 

http://media.www.rwcactivist.com/media/sto...e-2897109.shtml

Edited by Odie

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crazy people, makes me glad i have my neighbors they've always just tossed them back over the few times its happened, its hard not to have a ball go over once in a while i mean if it happens every day then the kids need to learn to be more careful and i would be mad too but it impossible for it to never ever happen unless you have some high fences lol

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UH, you are making a lot assumptions even from my own article.

 

Odie, you made assumptions too - how is that different?

 

Depending on the statute of the state - throwing objects onto people's property does count as trespassing.

 

I find that hard to believe.

 

 

Doesn't change the fact that it meets the statutory definition for trespass; I'm not saying people are arrested for it on a regular basis.

 

Hypothetically, suppose you had a neighbor that shot arrows or hit golf balls that went through the air just above your yard and landed in the vacant field next door. Since it doesn't touch your soil does that mean you're not burdend at all by the neighbors actions? (Invasion of your space)

 

Or how about a neighbor that painted in their yard and spray paint come over and coated your plants and grass or soot or chemicals etc drifted over? (objects - as in paint particles)

Edited by TheUnicornHunter

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What assumption did I make?

 

By saying the ball could have thrown in the yard by accident. I never said the ball was thrown in by accident.

 

Doesn't change the fact that it meets the statutory definition for trespass; I'm not saying people are arrested for it on a regular basis.

 

CHAPTER 2911: ROBBERY, BURGLARY, TRESPASS AND SAFECRACKING

2911.21 Criminal trespass.

(A) No person, without privilege to do so, shall do any of the following:

 

(1) Knowingly enter or remain on the land or premises of another;

 

(2) Knowingly enter or remain on the land or premises of another, the use of which is lawfully restricted to certain persons, purposes, modes, or hours, when the offender knows the offender is in violation of any such restriction or is reckless in that regard;

 

(3) Recklessly enter or remain on the land or premises of another, as to which notice against unauthorized access or presence is given by actual communication to the offender, or in a manner prescribed by law, or by posting in a manner reasonably calculated to come to the attention of potential intruders, or by fencing or other enclosure manifestly designed to restrict access;

 

(4) Being on the land or premises of another, negligently fail or refuse to leave upon being notified by signage posted in a conspicuous place or otherwise being notified to do so by the owner or occupant, or the agent or servant of either.

 

(:congrats: It is no defense to a charge under this section that the land or premises involved was owned, controlled, or in custody of a public agency.

 

© It is no defense to a charge under this section that the offender was authorized to enter or remain on the land or premises involved, when such authorization was secured by deception.

 

(D) Whoever violates this section is guilty of criminal trespass, a misdemeanor of the fourth degree.

 

(E) As used in this section, “land or premises” includes any land, building, structure, or place belonging to, controlled by, or in custody of another, and any separate enclosure or room, or portion thereof.

 

Effective Date: 04-08-2004

 

2911.211 Aggravated trespass.

(A) No person shall enter or remain on the land or premises of another with purpose to commit on that land or those premises a misdemeanor, the elements of which involve causing physical harm to another person or causing another person to believe that the offender will cause physical harm to him.

 

(:inlove: Whoever violates this section is guilty of aggravated trespass, a misdemeanor of the first degree.

 

This is the law in Ohio. It states that the person not objects trespass.

 

Yet, boys, sorry teenagers are still boys, will throw balls. Balls will get thrown into their yards all the time yet I have never heard of someone calling a boy throwing ball into a yard regardless of the intent called trespassing.

 

Hypothetically, suppose you had a neighbor that shot arrows or hit golf balls that went through the air just above your yard and landed in the vacant field next door. Since it doesn't touch your soil does that mean you're not burdened at all by the neighbors actions? (Invasion of your space)

 

But is it against the law? How far does personal space go? Over one's house or within few feet of the person? Now if arrows are landing in my yard I could call it endangerment which there are laws on book for it. Since your example was landing into vacant field it still might be called endangerment if balls did land in the vacant field. Yet this example is not tresspassing, but endanagerment.

 

Or how about a neighbor that painted in their yard and spray paint come over and coated your plants and grass or soot or chemicals etc drifted over? (objects - as in paint particles)

 

I would take pictures of the damage. Then determine cost of the damage either by cleaning or replace damaged plants and grass. I would go over to the neighbor and show him what happen when he spray painted in his yard and asking pay for the damages. If the neighbor doesn't pay for the damages I can take them to small claim court and have a good chance of winning. This is not trespassing, but property damage.

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Wow, it's weird how people squabble over the dumbest things (namely the old lady). I don't know why it would have been a big deal to just return the ball.

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UPDATE:

 

Charge dropped against woman in football dispute

 

BLUE ASH, Ohio – A prosecutor has dropped a charge of petty theft against an 89-year-old suburban Cincinnati woman accused of refusing to return a neighbor kid's football that landed in her yard.

 

Blue Ash Prosecutor Mark Arnzen said Wednesday that there was insufficient culpability to prosecute Edna Jester of Blue Ash, who was arrested last week.

 

Police say a child's father complained that Jester kept the football. Police Capt. James Schaffer says there has been an ongoing dispute in the neighborhood over kids' balls landing in the woman's yard.

 

Since her arrest, Jester has handled a barrage of media calls and an invitation to appear on "Dr. Phil."

 

Jester says she might consider that, if she's feeling up to it.

 

The maximum penalty for a petty theft conviction in Ohio is six months in jail and a fine of up to $1,000.

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Odie started to make a great point, kindness and friendlyness. She could be lonely find out invite her over, treat her as a friend not the grumpy old women next door.

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I am glad that charges where dropped. I am not surprised at all. It is too bad they can't get along. They would gain so much if they got along.

 

Infamous words of Rodney King, “Why can’t we all just get along?"

Edited by Odie

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