Man Held in Ariz. Shootings Had Lost Home

A heavily armed man who burst into a retirement community’s homeowner meeting and killed two people was apparently seeking revenge for having lost his home at the complex to foreclosure, police said Thursday.

Richard Glassel, 61, was arrested Wednesday after the shootings at the Ventana Lakes retirement community northwest of Phoenix. Three people were wounded.

He was heavily armed and, if someone had not stopped him, the situation could have been much worse, police spokesman Russ Scarborough said. People at the meeting jumped him when his gun jammed, police said.

Glassel, who is being held without bail on murder and attempted murder charges, had feuded with the homeowner association over the upkeep of the landscaping around his former home, residents said. The house went into foreclosure and was sold last year.

At first, members of the Ventana Lakes homeowner association didn’t even recognize Glassel, not having seen him in more than a year.

“He just came in, stood in the rear of the room and started firing,” said Sheldon “Smokey” Stover, 76.

During the shooting, according to court documents, the gunman said he was getting even with the association for all the problems the members had caused him.

Killed were Nila Lynn, 69, and Esther LaPlante, 75. Paul Ettinger, 69, was in fair condition Thursday, and Gilbert McCurdy, 63, was in good condition. Charles Yankowski, 69, was treated and released.

The association sued Glassel and obtained a restraining order in 1998 to keep him from harassing or intimidating the groundskeepers after he allegedly shoved a property manager, said Penny Koepke, an attorney for the community association.

Koepke said Glassel wanted the bushes around his property to grow lush and full instead of having them trimmed.

Before Glassel left after his home was sold, neighbors and others said, he destroyed its interior, sawing through cabinets and removing the dishwasher and kitchen sink.

“He took a chain saw to the doors, took a chain saw to the plastic tub and the plastic shower stall. He also etched big X’s on the Arcadia doors, pulled down the Sheetrock, cut the wiring in the walls,” said Donald McLean, a former association vice president.