Unbelievable. This a nation of jailers.
Felony charges for an elderly man because he used a permanent marker to draw a pickleball court on a gym floor. It’s a bit excessive.
Arslan Guney, a 71-year-old Colorado grandfather, is now facing a felony charge for criminal mischief.
Guney and others use a basketball court at Denver's Central Park Recreation Center for pickleball. Last Monday, the markings on the court had faded, so Guney re-marked them with a Sharpie.
Three days later, an arrest warrant for felony criminal mischief was issued for Guney. The court document also claims ten thousand dollars in damages.
Guney also received an email notifying him his Denver Parks and Recreation membership had been suspended indefinitely...
Now, Guney is represented by Hollynd Hoskins, an attorney who happens to be a pickleball player herself.
"This community is willing to remove the marks, hire a contractor to do it safely, to apologize, to volunteer with the community, but this is outrageous," Hoskins said...
Hoskins said she is now trying to get the arrest warrant turned into a court summons so Guney can avoid jail time.
"The community wants answers but we, again, we want to sit down and work this out, reach a resolution," Hoskins said. "This was an incredible misunderstanding and a mistake. It was not a crime."