Man accused of setting trap that injured door-to-door salesman skips court

A Douglas County District Court judge recently issued a warrant for a Highlands Ranch resident accused of constructing a "booby trap" on his home's front steps which injured a door-to-door salesman. 

Bryan Hill failed to show up for a court appearance on April 18, a month after his arrest on felony assault, felony menacing, and prohibited use of a weapon charges. 

Hill was arrested March 15 after a 26-year-old man called police to report lingering injuries allegedly suffered March 9 at Hill's residence. 

The 26-year-old met police in front of the house in the 9200 block of Ashburn Court. As the salesman walked on a path from the home's driveway to its front door, he struck a wire with his lower leg. This caused a long bang, the salesman explained to deputies, and caused a white flash in his vision. Immediately afterward, the salesman said his vision was blurred and his ears were ringing. 

The salesman removed the wire from the tip of his shoe. He also noticed two metal washers fall out of his shoe which were not connected to the wire. 

Another salesman for the same house painting company told deputies he heard the noise from several houses away and thought his colleague had been shot. When he arrived, a middle-aged man opened the home's garage door and said, "No trespassing."

The two salesman left and the man closed the garage door. 

A day later, the salesman told deputies his ears were still ringing and he was suffering from a constant headache. He described the previous day's 'bang' to investigators as similar to the time he shot a .45 caliber handgun without ear protection.

Five days later, the salesman continued to report hearing loss in one ear. 

That same day, according to the arrest affidavit, deputies returned the Ashburn Court residence and found a wire suspended across the paved walkway. It was attached to a device which a detective resembled a "shortened shot gun shell," as a deputy remarked in the affidavit. 

Some neighbors told a detective that the resident had warned them to not let their kids play near his house for fear of their being hurt, according to the affidavit. 

DCSO executed a search warrant March 15. The walkway device consisted of a blank 12-gauge shotgun round, per the affidavit. Another such device containing a substance similar to pepper spray was found constructed across a walkway to the back yard. It was "aimed up toward someone's face," the affidavit stated. The report noted the walkway to the back yard was a permissible right of way for public utility workers.  

Hill told investigators he constructed the front yard device to warn people, per the affidavit. A third trip-wire setup was found elsewhere on the property.

Hill, 61, and Tracy Remington, 53, were taken into custody on identical charges. Both posted $25,000 surety bonds on March 16 and were released. 

A spokesman for the 18th Judicial District Attorney's Office confirmed that charges were never formally brought against Remington. Her case, in fact, was closed April 14 due to lack of evidence. However, the office was recently notified about additional information in the case which could change the determination to drop those charges, or prompt the office to issue new ones.

Hill's new Failure To Appear warrant contains a recommendation for a $50,000 bond.