Harassment/Alarm, Annoy

What is the name of your state? What is the name of your state? Pennsylvania

sorry this is so long.....i recently received a criminal complaint summons in the mail, for harassment/repeatedly alarm, annoy. trial has been set for august 27, 2002 at our magistrates. the person who accuses me of such, is my neighbor, let's call him....."x". he accuses me with 'violating the penal laws of the commonwealth of pa. at "my address", in my county, on or about july 13, 2002 & various other dates'. he checks off that 'with intent to harass, annoy or alarm the one "my name", did engage in a course of conduct or repeatedly commits acts which alarm or seriously annoy such other person and which serve no legitimate purpose'. in his statement he says; "(my name) has on numerous times yelled, cursed & threned myself upon entering or leaving my residence. she continued to harass and annoy myself for the last 2 plus years. she has tried to limit my access to my residence by telling me not to cross her part of the yard, and does the same to anyone who comes to visit me. she calls the police dept for unfounded reasons. this process has continued for over 2 years and now is increasing".

first of all.....i have never cursed, yelled or threatened him or anyone who came to visit him. ever. i have asked him kindly to stop cutting through my half of the yard, 3 times. i have asked him and his friends to not use my driveway numerous times, because it was for my sole handicap and parking useage. he is the one that continues to ignore mine and my landlords wishes. my landlord has on numerous occasions told him to stop, cutting through my yard and not use the driveway, to a point that my landlord has erected a sign on my house in plain view on july 3, 2002, and still he ignores it. the date in question july13, 2002 he and his friend decided to once again park in my driveway, i asked him once to leave, he refused. i called my landlord, he asked if i called the police yet, i said no, he told me to call, the sign was up. and so i did. while on the phone with 911, i asked again, still refused. 911 wanted his registration plate number, i went around, without a single word to either of them, and gave her the number. "x" starts shouting, "why you doing this "my name", why you doing this", then continues to say "f*** you", all while 911 was on the phone then takes off. mind you this was at 9am and "x" was drinking. he had a mug of beer in hand. i have no witnesses to these events except my son and he is 16 yrs old, i live alone with my son, and stay indoors most times. i am as i said disabled and don't know what steps to take to get this man to stop. and he is charging me? with harassment? he just does not like to be told the rules or laws, maybe he thinks he can do what he wants and get away with it. i have been here for 11 years, get along with all my neighbors, and he only 2 years, late and negligent on rent, loud music, makes fun of my shape (i am somewhat crippled), and i have no witnesses. i had the cops here when his music was so loud after 11pm my son could not sleep for school, and in summer for work. they would come and no music, then when they leave, he turns it up louder for a few minutes then quits. i need this? where are my rights? who's protecting me? can anyone give me some good advice? i am on a fixed income so i cannot afford home security cameras to catch him etc.. but that would prove i am not lying.

Anyone has the right to file charges against another in the Commonwealth. Local county rules vary from county to county. In Monroe County, you must have reported the incident to the police agency having jurisdiction. The you can obtain the paperwork from the District Justice's office. Once filed, the District Attorney's office must review and approve it for criminal charges. Since this is a Summary Offense, and not really criminal, the DA's office would not have to review it. It's similar to getting a citation from the police.

If this is also the case in Luzerne County, you may wish to look into it. If the police were contacted by your neighbor, and they chose not to proceed legally, then most likely they felt they did not have an offense worth charging.

My advice would be to not have any contact whatsoever with your neighbor. Properly post your property, fence it in if possible, and maybe even send a certified letter to your neighbor (you may wish to speak with your attorney or the DJ prior to this so it's not construed as additional harassment) advising him that under no circumstances is he to enter upon your property. Provide a copy of the letter to your local PD, and retain a copy yourself. If he then trespasses upon your property, it is then a Misdemeanor rather than a summary.

Then anytime he or his friends trespasses upon your property, call the police. Everytime. Most officers will usually warn them the first time, and then arrest after that.

If someone's vehicle is parked upon your property, it is trespass by motor vehicle....also a Misdemeanor. You also have every right to have the vehicle removed at the owner's expense....although this may cause more problems with your neighbor. Sure would be nice to see the jerk's face when his car is gone, though.

As for your current case, call Luzerne County Communications (911) during regular business hours. Look up the business number, DO NOT call 911. Explain the situation and see if you are able to obtain the 911 tape from the incident with him yelling at you. I'm not sure if you have access to it or not. As a police officer, I use them in prosecutions quite regularly.

You could also subpoena the officers who have responded to your previous complaints against your neighbor, and require them to bring any and all reports pertaining to the incident. Speak to the Judge about having subpoenas mailed out.

Other than that, make sure you tell the truth while under oath. Don't give the guy any more ammunition.

And as always.......consulting an attorney is always a good idea.

Thank you.

>>My advice would be to not have any contact whatsoever with your neighbor.>>
I am avoiding him like the plague! I know his type. And i refuse to let him win this game he is playing. I am however very vulnerable because of being so private, "no witnesses"......he could say anything and have 5 of his friends back him and i am where?

>>Properly post your property, fence it in if possible>>
The property isn't mine per say, I am a subsidized renter with Section-8, my landlord has posted the parking sign, but as far as fencing in the yard he would have to do that and i really don't think he would.

>>send a certified letter to your neighbor (you may wish to speak with your attorney or the DJ prior to this so it's not construed as additional harassment) advising him that under no circumstances is he to enter upon your property. Provide a copy of the letter to your local PD, and retain a copy yourself. If he then trespasses upon your property, it is then a Misdemeanor rather than a summary.>>
This information I will definetly pass on to our landlord.

>>If someone's vehicle is parked upon your property, it is trespass by motor vehicle....also a Misdemeanor. You also have every right to have the vehicle removed at the owner's expense....although this may cause more problems with your neighbor. Sure would be nice to see the jerk's face when his car is gone, though.>>
Me too! The only reason I did not have an officer come up that am, is because they took off, when the officer would have gotten there, they would have already gone, no proof! So i told the 911 that next time i would stand in front of the car until the officer arrived! This is where he says i have made unfounded calls cuz by the time they get here he is done and makes me look like a liar!

>>As for your current case, call Luzerne County Communications (911) during regular business hours. Look up the business number, DO NOT call 911. Explain the situation and see if you are able to obtain the 911 tape from the incident with him yelling at you. I'm not sure if you have access to it or not. As a police officer, I use them in prosecutions quite regularly>>
I will try this. I tried today to get something from the call from the police station and they said there wasn't a report done, i asked him if i could get a copy of the call he said no. I also tried to get a copy of this "x" criminal record and was told i couldn't. I thought anyone could get a criminal check done on someone? He has a record.

>>You could also subpoena the officers who have responded to your previous complaints against your neighbor, and require them to bring any and all reports pertaining to the incident>>
Even if there weren't any reports made? Like the music? When they got here he had it off.....when they left he blasted it....if i didn't know better, i'd swear he knew they were coming!

>>consulting an attorney is always a good idea>>
Where would i find an attorney that knows this stuff, and how would i pay them? I am on fixed income. I checked with Legal Services, they won't do it, and neither will the Public defender unless it was a harassment by communication. If he wins this i will have less faith in our legal system. How could people like this do this kind of stuff and get away with it....or even 'think' they can? Well, I appreciate everything you have said, thank you very much!

Thank you Kathie.

Well, court records and decisions are public knowledge, but his record per se, is not. Reason being that "criminal records", as used by law enforcement, are maintained by CLEAN (Commonwelath Law Enforcement Assistance Network....run by the State) for Pennsylvania convinctions and NCIC (National Crime Information Computer...run by the FBI) for out-of-state convictions. Both of these records are privilleged information, and we are not able to release them to the general public.

If you know what courts he was convicted / sentenced in, then you could research it yourself.

Thank you Bravo8

I wasn't exactley sure. I myself went to the court clerks office 10 years ago and did the research myself. at that time they had not transfered everything over to computer so the lady goes to the basement and brings back all these books that contained court records for years. I was there for hours going page by page but it was well worth it. found 9 seperate arrest and convictions on my ex husband that I had never known about. Kathie

Harassment/Repeatedly Alarm, Annoy

Pennsylvania

Well, today we had the hearing. I took the advice and steered clear of him and his coherts until today. We went, my landlord went for me too. When we were called up, "X" went off ranting and raving telling him I go off like fireworks, like a mad woman, only this time he said it was for 3 years....(he's been there for 2) that doesn't matter though. The magistrate looked at me and asked if I acted like that cursing and threatening, I said no, I 'asked' him and when that didn't work I went to the landlord. I was basically quiet for the most part, not talking out of line and not answering unless asked, whilest, he on the other hand, seemed to be aggitating the magistrate. Anyway, the magistrate called it a 'bickering' argument and said that it should be up to the landlord to take care of this bickering, and if nothing comes out of this, he or I should start looking to move. I said I have been here for 11 years, he said "and I'd like to see you there for 11 more, but the bickering has to stop." He also told the landlord that if and when he doesn't listen to him when he is told to do something, he should just evict him! Plain and simple. So he put this on a 5 month hiatis(?) spelling, and I nor he, is not to bother one another, and the landlord needs to sit down with the both of us and set things straight. So he dropped it.

The landlord has to put up a fence blocking the access to our neighbors yard, and he is not allowed to tresspass/cut through my half of the yard, my landlord verified the driveway was in my lease since 1991 and I have to allow him to pick-up/drop-off and then leave the driveway. So, he spent $80.00 for nothing. By the way, "X" did come up with the month and a half's rent that was overdue, otherwise the landlord was going to file for eviction.

But just so other people know who are in the same position, I have learned that the sign my landlord posted for me, which read, "Handicapped and Parking for the front house only", was illegal, told to me by a police officer first, then the magistrate. Go figure. I can have one erected on a public street, but not in my designated driveway! What a system. Whatever happened to that Americans with Disabilities Act, that was supposedly passed in 1999?

Well, just wanted to share my outcome with you. Thanks to all who have posted responses for my query.

Handicapped signs.....

Handicap parking signs must meet certain criteria to be enforceable. They must have the markings (blue sign, lines, etc) and also a second sign outlining the fines and penalties.

And they would only be enforceable in areas where the public can park. Your private driveway would qualify.

Re: Handicapped signs.....

Bravo8 said:

And they would only be enforceable in areas where the public can park. Your private driveway would qualify.

Click to expand...

That should read your private driveway would NOT qualify.

Racer72 is right, Bravo, it seems the police and the magistrate both informed me that it is "not" qualified, thats why I said I can have one erected on a public street, but not in my designated driveway! What a system...... It 'should' be, if it was designated by the landlord, after all, it is his property. I'll never understand that.

Can anyone comment on the Americans with Disabilities Act? I found some stuff on Transportation that applies to Handicapped Parking at the below url, but don't fully understand the wording. Just curious. It's a Senate Bill that was passed in 1999.

The General Assembly of Pennsylvania
http://www.legis.state.pa.us/WU01/LI/BI/BT/1999/0/SB0348P0372.HTM

Thank you, Racer. Sometimes my brains moves faster than my fingers can type. That's what I meant to say (type).