Sep 26, 2002 By Steve Ferris 3 min read

FOOTEDALE – It was 4:30 in the morning Wednesday, but John Richard Sokol IV wasn’t asleep. He was ready. Someone stole his all-terrain vehicle, known as a quad, three weeks ago and family members said there have been three or four other ATV thefts from the Footedale-New Salem area in German Township last month or so.

Sokol was staying up all night to try and catch the thieves. Sokol’s vigilance apparently paid off as he spotted two teen-agers who looked like they were trying to break into his grandmother’s shed and steal his ATV.

However, state police in Uniontown said he might have gone too far.

Police said Sokol shot one of the teens in the arm and he ended up being charged with aggravated assault, simple assault and recklessly endangering another person. Charges are pending against the unidentified 17-year-old victim.

Sokol’s sister Elizabeth Sokol said there have been many unfamiliar vehicles riding around “scoping this area a lot” lately.

With some help from his grandmother Helen Elizabeth Lindsey, Sokol, 18, bought another ATV and stored in the shed in the back yard of her Water Street home.

He placed a baby monitor near the shed and regularly stayed awake until 5:30 a.m. so he could listen and watch from his parent’s house across the street.

Listening to the baby monitor, Sokol heard the lock being cut on the shed and went outside where he saw two people standing outside of the shed.

He ran back inside and according to police took a 7 mm-magnum rifle from his gun cabinet and ran back outside. When he approached the shed, he told police he saw the lock had been cut, a lawnmower had been pushed out of the way of the ATV and two people running down the down the alley.

Sokol told police he screamed at them and fired a shot into the ground in the direction of the fleeing pair, but the bullet hit one of them in the arm. Sokol told police he fired to scare them so they would stop.

The other teen, a 15-year-old male who has not been identified, was charged as a juvenile with burglary, conspiracy and other charges, police said.

Police said the 17-year-old teen he was transported to a hospital for treatment but no further information about his condition was released.

District Justice Brenda Cavalcante arraigned Sokol of 232 Second St. and released him on a $10,000 unsecured bond, noting that he has no criminal record. A preliminary has been tentatively scheduled for 9 a.m. Monday.

“It’s a shame it had to come to violence,” Lindsey said. “But I know he didn’t want to hurt them. He just wanted to scare them.”

“They got what they deserved,” Elizabeth Sokol said. “They had knives. They were going to stab somebody if they got caught.”

“I was in bed sleeping. I thought a bomb went off and that was 20 (minutes) after 4 (a.m.),” Lindsey said about the sound of the gunshot. “He was waiting for them. He’s been waiting. He knew they’d be back around.”

Lindsey and Elizabeth Sokol said there have been several other ATV thefts in the area recently and one of their neighbors chased someone who tried to steal his quad, but the person escaped.