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COMMUNITy NEWS | FOUR SEASONS BREEZE | SEPTEMBER 2014 5 By Leighton McLaughlin After residents' complaints of repeated gunfire in the open land south of Four Seasons, the HOA Board has asked for help from the Beaumont Police Department and others. The complaints were not just about an occasional shot fired, the Board said, but "Many residents reported they have heard frequent use of automatic weapons in this area." The call for assistance came in a letter from the Board to Police Chief Frank Coe with a request that it be forwarded to the City Council, the Riverside Sheriff, and others. The letter was signed by all three homeowner members of the Board, President Jacque Sneddon, Vice President Loren DuChesne, and Treasurer Wayne Staples. Commander Greg Fagan of the Beaumont police said two reports — one of automatic gunfire — were received by his department in the past two months. The Board asked for "any assistance you can give, including signage, more patrols, a multi-jurisdictional response or any other action you advise to monitor or discontinue this dangerous activity." "We inspected the areas of concern and found … improvised shooting ranges … less than a mile from the community," said the letter. "A stray round has already broken one of our resident's windows." The broken window was on Glacier Park about four years ago. Police were called and found the expended round in the family room of the house. DuChesne, once an Army infantry officer, said he has heard automatic weapons fire on several occasions. Resident Roland Harrah, who served three tours in Viet Nam, said he, too has heard automatic weapons several times. Eric Zarr, Four Seasons' assistant general manager, said he accompanied DuChesne on a tour of the area and found two improvised shooting ranges, a "sniper's pad" of plywood to allow prone shooting without lying in the dirt, and piles of expended shell casings — much of it military style ordnance. Fagan said Beaumont has a strong ordinance against shooting in the city. "You can't fire any kind of weapon," he said, "a BB gun, a bow and arrow, paint ball… nothing." A problem is that the area south of Four Seasons is under several jurisdictions: the cities of Beaumont and Banning, Riverside County, the federal Bureau of Land Management, and the state Department of Fish and Wildlife. The Metropolitan Water District also has property there. Hunting is permitted on the county and federal land, but not on the city property. The possession of an automatic weapon — much less its use — is illegal across the state, except with a special permit, which is almost never issued except for use in movies. Fagan said the city is exploring several solutions. One would be to incorporate the county land into the city so the stronger laws would apply; another would be to convince the county to strengthen its laws, at least in the affected area. He said no trespassing signs have been put up as well as one "No Shooting" sign. Other shooting signs have been prepared but not yet posted. He said Beaumont police respond to all reports of gunfire, but the terrain is rugged and shooters are hard to find unless they are still shooting. Also, it is sometimes difficult to determine if they are on city land or other land where shooting is permitted. Another difficulty is that the area has been used for quail hunting for generations. An educational program needs to begin to let the hunters know that some of the area should no longer be used, said Fagan. HOA Board Asks Help Against Shooting on Nearby Land Letter from the HOA Board to Beaumont Police Department Chief Frank Coe

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