By Patricia Bogumil
Interim Editor
Two teens who were test-driving a truck they recently repaired were allegedly shot at sometime after midnight April 29 by a Union Grove homeowner who apparently mistook them for criminals intent on mischief.
Brian S. Allyn, 55, 1222 Sta
te St., Union Grove, is charged in Racine County Circuit Court with two felony first-degree counts of reckless endangerment by use of a dangerous weapon.
According to the criminal complaint filed April 30:
The boys had replaced a thermostat on a truck earlier that evening and took the vehicle for a ride around Union Grove to check it out.
While driving, they found its headlights were flickering on and off and not working properly. One tried manipulating the fuses, but still couldn’t get the lights to stay on.
They turned off the main road and while driving southbound on 12th Avenue, they said a man tried to run in front of the truck, but they swerved around and missed him.
At that point, the teens heard three distinct gunshots and heard a “spray” hit the side of the truck.
One boy said his window was halfway down and, as they passed the man in the street, he heard pellets enter the cab and ricochet off his leg.
The man also yelled an epithet as the truck drove by.
The man was described as dressed in flannel, standing in a “shooter’s stance” and carrying a long gun.
Police then formed a perimeter around Allyn’s residence. The boys had pointed out his home and said the shooter had come running from its front yard.
Allyn subsequently exited the home with his hands in the air and was taken into custody.
Investigators then executed a search warrant of the residence.
They collected several firearms as evidence and also found spent shell casings from a .12-gaurge shotgun in the front yard near the front door.
Police report that on April 26, Allyn had made a “911” call to complain that teenagers had thrown a toilet at his renter’s car.
He reportedly became upset at the time of that incident, urging police to step in and solve the problem or he would.
“When they chuck toilets at my renter’s car, yeah, I can shoot people that are deliberately attacking me,” police report Allyn saying April 26.
Allyn had an initial appearance in Racine County Circuit Court April 30, at which time a competency evaluation was ordered.
He is next due in court May 15 for a competency hearing.
If convicted of all charges, Allyn faces $50,000 in fines, 25 years in prison, or both.
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