Brighton homeowner wants resort to help resolve trespassing problems, attorney says
Sep 9, 2024, 6:00 PM | Updated: 6:36 pm
BRIGHTON — The man caught on camera flashing a gun at a snowboarder in February wants Brighton Ski Resort to help with the ongoing trespassing problems.
In a viral video, Loren Richardson from California was snowboarding at the Brighton Ski Resort when he accidentally entered Keith Stebbings’s property. The footage showed Stebbings confronting Richardson with an unloaded rifle before letting the snowboard walk away.
View this post on Instagram
In March, Stebbings was charged with aggravated assault, a third-degree felony, and making a threat of violence, a class B misdemeanor.
“He tried to address it himself. He put up no trespassing signs. And unfortunately, the problem continued. And that’s when he decided to try to take matters into his own hands, which was the wrong decision,” said Steve Burton, Stebbings’ attorney.
According to court documents, Stebbings accepted a plea deal that dismissed the threat of violence charge and agreed to a plea in abeyance of the aggravated assault charge.
Burton said his client believed he didn’t intend to do anything wrong and was within his rights confronting Richardson, but realized that a jury might not have seen it that way.
“He was forced with the decision of whether or not to go to trial. And any time you go to trial, there’s a risk that the jury might not see it your way,” Burton said.
Stebbings will have to take a gun safety course and is supervised by a private probation agency for at least 18 months. He also forfeited his gun to the Unified Police Department, which will be returned to him in December 2025.
“He’s got a couple firearms, but as part of the plea bargain, he agreed to dismiss the one that was in controversy in this case,” Burton said.
Court documents show that Stebbings had to write an on the use of deadly force in Utah, saying he was unaware that exhibiting an unloaded gun on private property was unlawful when someone is trespassing.
“Immediately following the incident, my behavior changed through helpful recommendations and insightful advice from officers at UPD,” Stebbings said in the essay. “At that point onward, I no longer brought the gun out-of-doors.”
Burton said that Stebbings has no trespassing signs posted and will call the police when people break the rule, but it might not fix the overall problem.
‘The police have told him that there’s not much that they can do after the after the fact. That they can’t do anything to prevent these people from coming on his property,” he said.
In his essay, Stebbings wrote that he and some of his neighbors will approach Brighton Resort about diversion mechanisms.
“We have delivered them, what’s called Halloween ropes, a rope that we use for our rope lines and then bamboo that they could stick in the snow,” said Jarded Winker, the marketing director for Brighton Resort.
Signs posted to mark what is said to be private property near Brighton Ski Resort in 2024. (Courtesy Steve Burton)
Winkler said the resort hasn’t received complaints from anyone besides Stebbings but is looking to resolve it.
“Everybody else in the town was happy to see skiers and snowboarders. It’s just why you live there. It’s part of that culture,” he said. “Most people just kind of laugh about it, actually just thinking that it’s just unreal.”
The resort is looking to add more signs to tell skiers and snowboarders to return to the resort when they are about to enter private property, but Winkler added that the resort’s trails are clearly marked.
“Our boundaries are clearly marked with rope lines and signs that say, if you leave this, area, you’re venturing out either into your own national forest or onto private property or whatever,” Winkler said.
Burton said Stebbings has considered moving if the resort or residents can find a solution.
“He thought that maybe the trespassing no trespassing signs would help. And there was a small reduction. But unfortunately, the problem persists. And so now it’s a decision he’ll have to make whether or not it’s worth staying,” Burton said.
