Lucille Holt Colden(MAPLE HEIGHTS, Ohio) — A 12-year-old Ohio boy who operates his own lawn mowing business has gained more customers after one neighbor called the police one him for mowing part of her yard.
Maple Heights resident Lucille Holt had employed 12-year-old Reginald Fields, who owns Mr. Reggie’s Lawn Cutting Service, to mow her lawn on Saturday, she told ABC Cleveland affiliate WEWS.
Reginald’s cousins often help him work, and one of the neighbors called the police on them after the group of kids accidentally cut part of their grass, Holt said in a Facebook video she posted on Saturday.
“They called the police to tell the police that the kids was cutting their grass,” Holt said. “Who does that?”
The patch of grass the neighbors were apparently referring to sits between Holt’s home and theirs. There is no fence there to mark where the property begins and ends.
“I guess I have a line there, that’s not part of my yard,” Holt said.
The video showed a police car parked across the street from Holt’s home and two neighbors sweeping grass debris off their driveway. Holt said that, in the past, neighbors have called the police when her kids were throwing snow balls and another time when her son “was crying ’cause he was getting a whoppin’.”
“You called the police cause the kids [are] out here cutting the grass, and they cut the grass that wasn’t part of our grass?” Holt said. “I don’t know what part is my grass and what part is your grass.”
She continued, “They should be glad these kids aren’t out there breaking their car windows out,” Holt said. “They should be glad the kids [aren’t] out here stealing their cars.”
Holt then asks one of the boys how old he is. When he responds that he is 9 and went to school with one of the neighbors, she praises him for being productive.
“I’m so glad [you’re] out here doing something positive, she said.
An officer then comes to talk to Holt, asking her if they can “go inside around the corner so you guys don’t have to look at each other while I talk to you.”
When Holt asks why, the officer says, “‘Cause I don’t want it to turn into anything. I’m trying to make it easy on everybody.”
The Maple Heights Police Department did not immediately respond to ABC News’ request for comment. WEWS reached out to the neighbors, who said they saw the video but declined to comment further.
Holt ended the video saying she was “so angry right now that these babies [are] going through this — getting the police called on them ’cause they’re cutting grass.”
Reginald didn’t realize he was cutting the neighbor’s grass, he told WEWS.
“They said I was cutting their grass,” he said. “I didn’t know it!”
Ever since the incident, which has been viewed more than 150,000 times on Facebook as of Friday, Reginald has been getting more business calls than ever from all over the city, he said.
“People are inboxing me like, ‘How can I get in touch with this children? Where are they at? I got property I want these kids to cut,'” Holt said.
Reginald told the local station that he planned on saving the money he made to buy new equipment and grow his business.
On Friday, Holt posted video of Reginald receiving a new lawn mower and leaf blower from members of the community who saw her video.
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