Man owns up to errant arrow

A 27-year-old man pleaded not guilty Thursday to shooting an arrow through a window of his elderly neighbor’s house in January. No one was hurt in the incident, which left an arrow lodged in a wall of the couple’s bedroom.

According to police officials, Ronald Helen admitted to shooting a 2 1/2-foot-long arrow through the window of Priscilla and Andras Muller’s home on the 700 block of North Buena Vista Street, but said it was an accident.

The couple found the arrow lodged in their bedroom wall on Jan. 28. It had pierced a fiberglass panel separating the adjacent property before breaking a 3-inch hole in a window in the Mullers’ home and striking the bedroom wall.

Although the trajectory of the arrow into their home suggested it originated from the adjacent property, it took more than a month before Helen stepped forward.

Burbank Police Sgt. Robert Quesada said Helen admitted to officers that it was an accident.

In Burbank, it is illegal to shoot any arrow within city limits except when shooting at targets on a range, when an animal or person poses a treat of immediate harm, or after applying for a permit to do so for the purpose of motion or still photography productions.

The Burbank City Attorney’s Office filed a citation against Helen for discharging the arrow on March 3.

Helen is expected back in Los Angeles County Superior Court for a hearing on May 5, where a city attorney will bring up possible restitution to the Mullers.

The Mullers said they survive on a single Social Security check between the two of them and would have to wait to repair the window until someone was held responsible.