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Oregon Road Conditions & Cams Email Story to a Friend January 26, 2006 Pellet ‘war games’ raise a ruckus Three men arrested after a neighbor called police to report an armed man lurking about an apartment complex By ANITA BURKE Mail Tribune Three men face disorderly conduct charges after their intoxicated "war games" with pellet guns disturbed a Medford apartment complex early Wednesday morning, Medford police said. A resident at an apartment complex at 2115 Roberts Road, Medford, called police shortly before 2 a.m. to report that a suspicious man with a gun had threatened him. A man who lived there had seen someone ducking between cars in the complex’s parking lot and went outside to tell the lurker to go away, Medford police Lt. Mike Moran said. When confronted, the man swore, pointed a pistol at the resident and acted as if he was going to fire. A responding police officer quickly found a man who matched the armed man’s description. He was talking on a cell phone, had one hand tucked in his pocket and refused the officer’s request to put his hands where visible. The officer wrestled him to the ground and in searching him, found a pistol-style "airsoft" pellet gun tucked in the waistband of his pants, Moran said. Realistically styled, airsoft guns shoot pellets and are used in tactical games similar to those played with paintballs. Advertisement "If you present a weapon, people won’t know it’s a toy, especially in the dark," Moran said, explaining that officers responded as if faced with a real gun. They arrested Shea Marcus New, 19 of the 2400 block of Bell Court, on charges of disorderly conduct and menacing and lodged him at the Jackson County Jail. During the investigation they found two other men who had played shooting games with New in the complex. All three had been drinking, Moran said. Richard Sheldon Loptien, 32, who lives in the complex, was arrested and jailed on a charge of disorderly conduct. Police found two airsoft guns in his apartment, Moran said. Andrew Geylen Gifford, 24, of the 900 block of Mountain View Drive, Eagle Point, was cited on a disorderly conduct charge. "It’s a very dumb idea to play with these guns like this," Moran said. An eighth-grader shot and killed by police in Florida earlier this month brandished an airsoft gun at school. Moran noted that firing any kind of weapon, including a pellet gun, BB gun, slingshot, crossbow, bow and arrow, or blowgun, is illegal inside the Medford city limits. Reach reporter Anita Burke at 776-4485, or e-mail Pellet �war games� raise a ruckus ">[email protected] . Mail Tribune Home | Local News | Sports | Business | Obituaries | Life | Opinion AP News | Archives | Site Map | Community | Classified Copyright © 1997-2006 Mail Tribune, Inc. All rights reserved. Privacy Policy | Terms & Conditions | Website Feedback www.bingo.com Home Security Systems Trunks, Footlocker Custom Build Computers Computer Security Discount Hotel Reservations Casinos Canada dvd-r Generic Viagra Myspace Windermere Van Vleet Deep Muscle Stimulator Sports Equipment Online Casino Reviews Online Bingo Entertainment Guide Online Casino Fundraisers Student Loans Sudoku Online Advertisement s Advertisement