SALT LAKE CITY (ABC 4 News) - A teenage prank turns violent after a group of kids began throwing eggs at a home in the Sugarhouse area. When the owners confronted the kids- they pulled out a gun.
"I was really nervous, but I was extremely angry at that time," said Rolf Herd, teenager pulled gun on him.
Reality is setting in.
"My son could've been shot, my husband could've been shot," said Kimberly Herd, Salt Lake City resident.
Late Monday night Rolf Herd and his son Hans looked out the window and saw kids egging their house on 1700 S. in Salt Lake City.
"We went straight out the front door,” said Hans Herd, teenager pulled gun on him.
Without thinking the two got in the car, and chased after them. They tried to get the driver to pull over, but instead got a gun their face.
"The back passenger pulled out a gun and pointed it at us," said Hans Herd.
"My first reaction was - Is that real? Is it a toy?" said Rolf Herd.
Police said 19-year-old Kyler Alvey pointed a BB gun at Herd and his son. Although it wasn't real, in the eyes of the law it's the same thing.
"They pull out an object that looks exactly like a firearm, it's a replica, points it at you, essentially threatens you with it, there's no way of you knowing that that is not an actual real firearm that could kill you," said Officer Josh Ashdown, Salt Lake City Police Dept.
Alvey was booked into Salt Lake County jail for aggravated assault, a third degree felony. The Herds couldn't believe it happened.
"I'm shocked a simple crime like egging or vandalism, can lead into a much more violent crime, I was shocked," said Herd.
The Herds tell ABC 4 they never wanted Alvey to go to jail. They were simply hoping the kids who egged their house would stop, come back and clean up the mess.
UPDATE: 10/11/12 After this story aired, Reporter Brian Carlson spoke to Brandon Dmochowski, one of the four persons accused of egging the Herd's home. He did not deny his friends egged their house, or that Kyler Alvey pulled out a BB gun. However, Dmochowski claims the egging was in retaliation. He said Hans Herd recently sent sexually explicit messages to Dmochowski's sister. He also said when the Herds followed them in their car, the group of eggers were so scared, Alvey pulled out the BB gun to frighten the Herds away. Dmochowski said they crashed their car trying to escape from the Herds. When the car came to a stop, the Herds confronted the group. The two sides began shoving each other, but did not fight. Dmoshowski said police recovered the grip to the BB gun, because they tried to throw it away before officers arrived, and it broke during the throw.
UPDATE: 10/12/12 After Reporter Brian Carlson spoke to Brandon Dmochowski, Carlson received an email from a woman claiming to be Briana Dmochowski, the recipiant of Hans Herd's supposedly sexually explicit text messages. She told Carlson the text allegations are false. In the email she said, "my brother had his story mixed up." The Herd family also denied the texting claims, and claims that a confrontation was made after the eggers crashed their car.
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Follow Brian Carlson on Twitter: @tv_briancarlson
