Little neighborhood hoodlums...

[threoh8]

I'm not big on letting a coach "handle it". He should become aware of the matter, but this needs to be on the record.

There are crimes involved here, and real danger to people. This is a matter for the police and the courts.

Some coaches have been known to sweep things under the astroturf to protect the program's - and their own - future. Extra laps and workouts don't fix the damage or restore peace of mind for the victims.

[troglodyte]

As others have said, go to the sheriff. The coach will find out soon enough.

[victory]

The parents and the coach had plenty of opportunities to instill proper values in these thugs. Now it's the sheriff's turn.

[mtnthundr2]

It's one thing to keep the law out of it and teach them a lesson, but it doesn't sound like that's going to work on these idiots - or their parents. I'd call the sheriff and let the boys deal with that so A) they realize what they did is wrong and maybe settle down and B) there's a record so when they screw up again it won't be their first time.

...and C) they will now know that you are serious and shouldn't be fooled with

[LDB415]

They committed a criminal act. That makes them criminals. One of two things happens. They interact with a "feelings" person who is concerned with their feelings and their future and yada yada or they interact with a "common sense" person who is concerned with crime and society and stopping criminals from committing more crimes. There's no way they don't have a meet and greet with the sheriff over this. Hopefully it will be enough.

[TomsTXCHL]

I would just say also that I would never describe the kids in those pics as "little". If they're old (and big) enough to play High School football in Texas, they're old enough to learn some basic lessons about respect for persons and property.

[misterlarry]

OP, you have been more than fair. I believe that the Sheriff should be handling this situation because they used firearms to cause the damage. To me, there's a big difference between that and throwing a rock to break a vase, light, or camera.

[Redneck_Buddha]

Did this happen in East Dillon?

[Distinguished Rick]

Jail, pure and simple.

[tbrown]

I would just say also that I would never describe the kids in those pics as "little".

Maybe it's the neighborhood that's little.

I hope things work out to the OP's satisfaction.

[Oldgringo]

I would just say also that I would never describe the kids in those pics as "little".

Maybe it's the neighborhood that's little.

I hope things work out to the OP's satisfaction.

I hope things workout to society's satisfaction.

[cb1000rider]

Here's the update:
Going against the conventional advice here, I gave the hoodlums a bit more time. Mainly because I didn't want dad to have to cover the cost of any of this stuff. I gave them a deadline of today.
On Wednesday, hoodlum B shows up, with his dad. Issues an apology and pays for the still-functional camera. We have a discussion about what can happen in Texas if criminal mischief had occurred a few hours later in the day.
I also remind him (and his father) that there is some damage to my neighbors property and that the value of that lamp is right around $500. I tell him that the glass that is broken is easy to replace - I offer to supervise, and indicate that it will probably cost him around $10 and encourage them to deal with it before they have to pay for all of it.

Kid B says "wasn't" me. He says it was Kid A. Dad pipes up that the police aren't going to care and that the "boys" will have to work it out. I remind them that on Friday, if it's not fixed that I'm turning it all in.. And it'll likely become a $300 ticket as well as a $500 light issue.

No activity on fixing the light... So I called the Sheriff today. Handed over photos of all 3 kids, first/last names, and the names of their parents. My neighbor is in Spain currently, but she'll be back on Friday to sign the complaint and then the kids get to deal with the criminal justice system...

Cliffs notes:
So my stuff was paid for, kids face prosecution...

These kids are really really dumb. Shooting a camera from the front, and then allowing a $10 issue to snow-ball into something that's probably going to cost several hundred dollars each...
My understanding is that this isn't "firearm" damage, but .177 air gun damage, not that it makes much of a difference.

[TomsTXCHL]

IMO you deserve to sleep well tonight--you certainly went above & beyond to get this resolved in a neighborly fashion. My hat is off to you sir; I'm pretty sure I would not have been as cool-calm-collected as you clearly have been about this.

[C-dub]

These kids are really really dumb.

It doesn't seem like their parents are much better off in the mathematical realm.

[Excaliber]

The hoodlums worked hard to get where they'll now find themselves and they're about to learn that decisions have consequences.

You did the right thing. Now it's time for the sheriff to take it from here.