Man Catches Kids Vandalizing Home And Is Charged With Endangerment

A New York man who caught four kids vandalizing his father-in-law’s home was charged with child endangerment. After he found the boys inside with hammers, he ordered them to go into a closet until police arrived.

Jesse Daniels heard pounding coming from the house next door, so he went to check out the situation. He said he found one boy sitting on the floor and the others swinging their hammers like crazy.

According to Daniels, the boys did more than $40,000 worth of damage to his father-in-law’s home. They reportedly broke the windows, put holes in the walls, and sprayed graffiti on the walls.

“I was fortunate that they were in that room that had a closet, so I put them in the closet,” he said. “I said, `Listen, you guys are staying here until the police come, period.”

The boys’ parents thought that Daniels did not handle the situation appropriately.

“I understand they were in the wrong, but there are other ways to handle it,” Paul Bowler said. “He knew who the kids were. It’s not like they were strangers. And send the kids home and call the cops then. You don’t sit there and torment them and tell them you’re going to bash their skulls in with a hammer.”

Daniels said he was just trying to protect his family, but he was arraigned on four counts of endangering the welfare of a child.

The boys who vandalized the home are also in trouble for their actions. They were charged with burglary and criminal mischief and their cases are being handled at the Wayne County Family Court.

Do you think Daniels deserves to be charged with child endangerment? Do you believe he was wrong for sticking the kids in the closet?

[Image via Shuttershock]