Carson businesses react to plea deal in window shooting case

Dan Turner didn't see who shot out the window of his store and he knows that's the problem.

Almost no one else saw David Scott Killen use a BB gun to allegedly shoot out more than 20 windows Feb. 12 in and around Carson City.

Because of this, Killen was able to plead guilty to one gross misdemeanor for property damage.

The rest of the charges were dropped and no charges were filed against the passenger in Killen's car, Dylan Patrick Gregory.

Besides up to a year in jail and a $2,000 fine, Killen has also agreed to pay what will be thousands of dollars in restitution, but "quite honestly, (the money) is not a certainty," said Carson City Deputy District Attorney Kelly Werth, who prosecuted the case.

"You might hear the term 'you can't get blood from a turnip,'" Werth said. "It might be slow."

Turner, owner of the Bicycle Authority at 1505 N. Carson St., said he understands the legal difficulties of trying to get a harsher conviction, "but do I think that's right? No."

"It seems like he gets to kind of skate on this ... we just hope karma catches the guy," said Turner, who paid $700 to replace his window.

At least nine businesses in the city including Turner's had windows shot out, some costing thousands of dollars to replace.

Scott Doerr, owner of B'Sghetti's in downtown Carson, said it cost $3,000 to replace the windows that were shot out at his business " one of which he was sitting under when it broke.

"It was a bad day at the office," he said.

Killen probably didn't understand how much the damage hurt small businesses like his and might not ever be able to pay all the restitution, Doerr said, but the courts should find a way to have him pay back the community, like through community service.

Other business people said they didn't know how mentally stable Killen was at that time and weren't sure how to deal with him.

"The bottom the line is there's a right and a wrong," said Helen Laughbon, assistant manager at Sierra Sewing Center on North Carson Street. "Was he mentally handicapped or was he just being nasty?"

He needs to be held responsible for what he did, though, she said.

"There were people underneath the window and (Killen) knew that and that should be a very strong indication of what people should think," she said.

Killen, a convicted arsonist, could have been a "mental case" and the passenger should have been charged, too, said Ben McCulley, owner of Rolling Rubber, near the corner of Carson and William streets.

McCulley said Killen needs to held responsible for breaking his and other windows, however it is done.

"I work six days a week and I don't like people taking advantage of me," he said.

According to Werth, the state division of Parole and Probation is compiling a list of damages to be presented at Killen's sentencing Dec. 10. Werth said people should call the division about complaints.

Vera Treat, manager at Hannifin's Art & Antiques on North Carson Street, said the store was luckily closed the day of the vandalism, but paying $7,000 to replace the broken windows hurt the store.

"I don't know what his state of mind is," she said. "But I hope he learned something this time around."

- Contact reporter Dave Frank at dfrank@nevadaappeal.com or 881-1212.