BLUE ASH An 89-year-old woman arrested for not giving neighborhood children their football back after it landed repeatedly in her yard said today she'll return the ball.
But not right away.
"That's my only way of getting through to these children," Edna Jester said. "I'll give it back to them later, but not right now."
Jester was arrested and charged with petty theft after she took the ball and refused to give it back, Blue Ash police said. Word of her arrest has touched off national news interest in the case.
Officers were called about 6:30 p.m. Thursday to her home in the 4900 block of Myrtle Avenue by one of the childrens fathers, Blue Ash Police Capt. James Schaffer said.
The football apparently was thrown into Jesters yard, and it wasnt the first time, he said. The issue has been an ongoing dispute in the neighborhood, he said.
When police asked Jester to return the ball to the children, she refused. They warned her twice she would be charged if she did not cooperate, Schaffer said. They tried to give her a citation, but she refused to sign for it, he said.
Left with no other choice, he said, officers placed her in the back of a cruiser, took her to the police station and booked her, he said. Schaffer said Jester told police to handcuff her but they refused.
Jester was cited to appear in Blue Ash Mayors Court Nov. 12 and released from custody.
Commenting on her arrest, Jester said, "It was a terrible ordeal. Terrible."
The football, valued at $15, is being held for evidence, Schaffer said.
The potential maximum penalty for a petty theft conviction in Ohio is six months in jail and a fine of up to $1,000. Schaffer said he suspects the mayor or presiding magistrate will take into account her age and lack of criminal record when the case comes up.
Tanis said he never wanted Jester to be arrested.
I just wanted the ball back, Tanis said. My son paid for the ball with his own money.
Tanis said she has kept about 10 balls basketballs and soccer balls belonging to his children that went into her yard. Jester said she has kept only three.
Tanis son is in junior high school. Tanis declined to give his sons name in order to protect him from unwanted publicity.
Its inappropriate that its blown up into this big a deal, he said. This is turning into nothing but a nightmare.
Tanis and his wife, Kelly, have five children and have lived in the Blue Ash neighborhood for seven years. Jester has lived there since 1949.
Tanis said his son and some of his cousins and friends were playing football in the street Thursday when the ball landed in Jesters yard, where she was gardening. He said Jester picked up the football, refused to give it back and told him to call the police.
Tanis said he told the police officer who responded to his call that he didnt want to press charges against her.
Edna and I have gotten along well, he said. Ive cut her grass for free. We know she doesnt like neighbors going into her yard, and we do the best we can to avoid it.
I can feel for the old lady...she is elderly, probably lives alone. These kids can find another place to play...playgrounds, parks etc. I am guessing, she being a gardner, didnt want kids mashing through her flowers to get a football...since this happened before I am guessing she tried other less combative ways to alleviate this, to no avail.
I think telling the boys to have their parents call rather than telling the boys to call the police may have been a better solution...but it sounds like the informal route wasnt a solution. Many parents nowadays want to be their kid's friends rather than say no. Doesnt sound like they wanted to tell junior to play away from the old lady's yard.
How are kids supposed to learn respect for a neighbor, the elderly and someone else's property if there arent boundaries?
The kids property ( a football) is viewed as chattel The woman's property rights still exist. They seem to have been ignored here.
We have neighbors with pre-teen and teen age boys living next door. Their driveway runs along side my carport. I have had basketballs and footballs bounced off brand new vehicles...there has been chewed gum left to bake into car paints as well. The parents should have the FORESIGHT to anticipate these kinds of problems...since kids usually dont, or dont care. There is a HISTORY to my situation...so if at some point I over react to a minor situation...it is probably a cumulative effect. The old lady probably felt she had no other recourse. I am sorry the law let her down.
The woman and all people are entitled to a quiet enjoyment of their home...where else are people to retreat to? Nuisance laws exist for a reason.
I was a boy once, but I was raised to consider other peoples feelings. Thank God I had parents who taught me the world didnt revolve around me.
I agree, it was ridiculous to call the police. But again, the reason she was arrested was because she wouldn't comply with police. I actually expected you to side with the police on this one.
In this case, it sounds like we need more info. I didn't think of it hitting any cars or landing in the flower bed, because it wasn't mentioned in the article.
I can see both sides of this one. Still I don't think it was right to arrest an almost 90 yr old woman over something so trivial.
The kids do need to learn to be more responsible with their actions and belongings. These are not babies who are incapable of grasping the ramifications of their actions. They have apparently been told before to keep things out of her yard. Flat out and simple, the whole world is not their playground.
The lady should give the football back to the parents with the full expectation that the parents will do something to modify the kids behavior. She has a point about not wanting her yard invaded, but the football doesn't belong to her so she should return it. Being obstinant with the police is not helping her case.
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MM
That which does not kill me postpones the inevitable.
