A homeless man was arrested and charged with trespassing at the Belleview Splash Park.
A Belleview Police officer responded to the park, located at 5615 SE 110th Place, on Tuesday after receiving a report of an intoxicated person. The suspect was described as a white male wearing red shorts and a floral shirt carrying a beer, according to the police report.
Another officer located a man fitting that description walking in the parking lot of the McDonald’s restaurant at 5515 SE Abshier Blvd. The man, later identified as 49-year-old Richard E. Kurdt, was visibly wet and said he had walked to McDonald’s from the splash park. When asked what he was doing at the splash park, he said he went there because it was hot outside. He admitted to using the water features, the report said.
A records check showed Kurdt was issued a trespass notice March 10 that prohibited him from being at the splash park and Lake Lillian Park. Surveillance video showed Kurdt sitting on a bench within the gated park area, according to the report.
The woman who reported Kurdt said she was at the park with her 2- and 4-year-old sons when Kurdt walked up. She said Kurdt placed a pair of shoes and a clear cup of beer on a table outside the fence and then entered the park and sat down. She said he was talking to himself and sort of twitching, the report said.
The complainant said her son was walking on a bench nearby and Kurdt moved closer to him, possibly just to make sure he didn’t fall, but it made her uncomfortable. She said some of the other parents were uncomfortable and asked Kurdt if he was there with a child, and he responded by saying it was a public park and he could be there, according to the report.
The complainant said the other parents politely asked Kurdt to leave because it was a park for children and he refused. She said an argument broke out between Kurdt and the parents before he left, the report said.
Kurdt was taken to the Marion County Jail, where he’s scheduled for release next Thursday.