Dorset neighbor dispute leads to gunfire and arrest

Star Beacon

February 14, 2009 12:13 am

— DORSET TOWNSHIP — A neighbor dispute over land led to the arrest of one man Thursday.
Sheriff’s deputies arrested Philip M. Colton, 31, of Dorset, on the charge of aggravated menacing for allegedly shooting a shotgun in the direction of a 15-year-old Jefferson male.
According to reports, the teenager’s aunt asked him to remove a “no trespassing sign” from what she believes is her property. While the teen was removing the sign, he heard a shot and then a second shot, and “he felt some dirt spray on his leg from the ground.” The teen then hurried to the house and told his aunt the shots came from the direction of Colton’s house.
Deputies interviewed a neighbor who said she was watching TV and heard a loud gunshot. She then jumped up, heard a second shot, and looked out her window and saw Colton on his back porch with what looked like a shotgun in his hand, according to the report.
Deputies then confronted Colton who said he “shot the gun approximately 70 yards from where the teen was removing the sign, just to scare him.”
Colton claims the land is his and he can put a sign on that property.
The teen was not injured, and the .410-gauge single-shot shotgun was taken as evidence. Colton was transported to the Ashtabula County Jail without incident, according to the report.