Four arrested for shooting fireworks at middle school

FORT SCOTT, Kan. -- The old Fort Scott Middle School was the site of excitement Friday morning as police arrested four local residents for shooting off fireworks from the roof of the vacant building.

According to the Fort Scott Police Department, Fort Scott residents Kevin Don Richwine, 32, Matthew Scott Trotter, 27, Rusty Ray Lalman, 26, and Tilly Erin Wilkinson, 27, were arrested at 2:17 a.m., Friday, by the Fort Scott Police Department and charged with obstruction of legal process and criminal trespass. Each was later released on a $1,750 bond.

Local authorities received the call about 12:28 a.m., Friday, about fireworks being discharged from the roof of the old Fort Scott Middle School in the 400 block of National Avenue. Upon arrival, officers apprehended the four men and took them into custody.

According to Marie Papa-Vavrovsky, owner of the building, Trotter had been asked to watch over the building while she and her husband, Igor, were in Delray Beach, Fla. They are trying to secure enough funding to return to Fort Scott and continue their renovation of the building into an art studio and gallery.

The city of Fort Scott currently has an ordinance that prohibits discharging fireworks within the city limits.

Authorities did not release what kind of fireworks were being used.