Posted on 05/01/2002 7:52:56 AM PDT by CFW
BERKLEY - It was a thing that went bump in the night in Bill Kerr's home and now he's facing two assault charges because of it. Kerr got into a scuffle with two teenage boys after he discovered them hiding in his 13-year-old daughter's bedroom closet about 4 a.m. on Feb. 3. But nearly three months after the early-morning encounter, Kerr is being charged with a crime.
On Thursday morning, Kerr is to turn himself in to 45A District Court in Berkley to be arraigned on two charges of assault and battery, 90-day misdemeanors.
"I would never believe this in my wildest dreams," Kerr said Tuesday of the charges. "I was afraid. You have to look at my picture. My two kids are sleeping, actually a third with my daughter's friend. I open the closet door and I see someone I've never seen in my life. I'm just glad I didn't have a gun."
What Kerr, 41, did have were his fists, and he hit the intruder several times before realizing it was a 14-year-old acquaintance of his daughter and her sleep-over friend.
A second intruder, also stuffed in the small bedroom closet, was the daughter's 14-year-old boyfriend. Kerr jerked him out of the closet.
The boys had attended the same party the girls did earlier in the evening.
The girls left the party about 11 p.m. and came back to the Kerr home. About 3 a.m., the boys came to the home, tapped on the daughter's bedroom window and were invited inside.
An hour later, Kerr was awakened by a bump and went downstairs to check on the girls. It appeared they were asleep. He began to walk out of the room when he heard the closet door wiggle.
"My heart dropped," he said. "I thought, 'Oh my God, there's someone in the closet.' "
He opened the door to find a person standing with his arms stretched toward the ceiling because of the tight fit in the closet. Kerr yanked the boy from the closet, falling on him in the process.
Kerr admitted hitting the first boy two or three times although the boy told police he was struck many more times than that. He did not strike the boyfriend, he said. Kerr, who said he has two felonies on his record, hired a lawyer and met with the police after the incident. He thought that would be the end of it. It wasn't.
"I think it's a bunch of baloney," he said. "What would anybody do? My No. 1 priority is to protect my wife and kids. (The boys) were hiding in my closet. That's what they told the police. What would you do if you found some unknown person hiding in the closet at 4:05 in the morning?"
James Halushka, director of warrants and investigations for the Prosecutor's Office, said Kerr's prior record was a factor in the decision to charge him. The office is going to take a second look at the facts.
"We're going to take this case under review at this point," Halushka said Tuesday. "We want to consult with the victims' families and the detective and take a closer look at their version and the defendant's."
Defense attorney Stuart Young, who represents Kerr, was surprised his client was charged at all. He said Kerr was simply defending his home.
"The man was scared out of his mind and he truly believed they were intruders in his home," Young said. "He did what any normal person would do - he reacted. We're going to try this case. He's not pleading guilty to anything.
"I can't understand for the life of me why they're charging him. The theory is he used unnecessary force but no one got hurt. They're lucky he didn't come down with a shotgun."
Kerr said he grounded his daughter for a month because of the incident.
Kerr said he grounded his daughter for a month because of the incident.
My daughter would have gotten much worse!
That would be Kerr's family, right?
Kerr sounds like just another guy tring to do the right thing. I guess he should be thrown in jail. (/sarcasm)
I wonder what the parents of the boys did to their sons? If they were mine they would be writting to the judge telling him to drop the charges on Kerr.
Speaking of the "victims", I see no other mention of their parents.
It's 3:00 a.m., do you know where your children are?
Would you let your 13-year old daughter go to a party until 11 pm?
Would you let your 13-year old daughter have a boyfriend?
I would assume that both couples were making-out in the same room for atleast an hour before getting caught. Is this type of "group activity" normal for young teens?
I noticed there was no mention of the boys parents looking for them. Would you let your 14-year old son stay out all night?
These children seem to be running wild. I believe the father should have every right to beat the snot out of the kids even if he knew their identity. These children need some kind of order in their lives. Charging the father with a crime will only make them disrespect authority even more.
Yes. At the very least. Mine would also be at Kerr's house, apologizing to him, his wife, and his daughter--to their faces. They would also be grounded until I decided what else to do. What these boys did is very dangerous, and they should accept full responsibility for it--for their own good--assuming that this report is accurate.
Agreed. At least the father tries. I see him as trying to be a good father with a daughter who's a real skanky brat.
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