ARLINGTON,
Kansas (KSN) – Several shots were fired at his truck after Ray Hawn went to visit to his neighbor out in the country outside
Arlington.
The windows were blasted out.
All four tires were blown.
Bullet holes could be found near the gas tank as well as the headrest of the truck.
But after prosecutors with the Reno County District Attorney’s office reviewed the case, the homeowner wasn’t charged.
Ray Hawn was. He’s now facing as many as seven months behind bars for trespassing and disorderly conduct.
“I’ve been waiting patiently for the system, the law to work, and it doesn’t look like its working very well,” said Hawn.
Hawn drove to the house in Arlington to confront his neighbor on Oct. 7. He says he was upset at the neighbor over allegedly harassing a friend.
“I pulled in the driveway, I was yelled at, and I realized he was going for his rifle and I started to leave,” Hawn said. “I told him to go to hell or something. Like I said, the guy’s got a short fuse and anything can trigger him.”
The neighbor doesn’t mince words when talking about his dealings with Hawn.
“Raymond Hawn is a liar,” the homeowner tells KSN in a statement. KSN is not identifying the homeowner because he hasn’t been charged with any crimes.
The homeowner claims Hawn has been warned repeatedly to stay off the property by himself as well as sheriff’s deputies.
“Mr. Hawn is a danger to our family and property,” the homeowner says. “He should not be believed.”
Kansas law allows homeowners to use force when protecting their property if the homeowner reasonably believes it’s necessary to prevent someone from entering their home.
Prosecutors refuse to public ally comment about the details of the case but stand by their decision to charge Hawn and not the homeowner.
“We don’t try cases on TV or in the newspaper,” said Reno County District Attorney Keith Schroeder. “We have to try them in the courtroom and that’s where the truth is going to have to come out.”
At Hawn’s preliminary hearing on Tuesday, prosecutors told the judge they plan to seek jail time for Hawn. He has another court hearing scheduled later this month in Hutchinson to make sure he has a lawyer before the case goes to trial.
