Neighbor from hell - need advice

[NDickinson]

What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? Arizona

I live in a rural area of SE Arizona and the laws usually pertaining to land, digging, etc. don't apply here. (This is a SHORT note to help clarify the rest)

Last August, a couple purchased the 4 acre parcel next to our 4 acre parcel. Their intent is to eventually build a house there but for now they are using it to put three horses in a small corral. In putting up the fence posts last August, the male of this malignant duo, using an auger on a small tractor, dug into our water main and broke it. He was supposed to fix it the next day but never showed up and we ended up going into town (a 60 mile round trip) to get the parts to fix our water. My husband lost a day of overtime doing this.

Three weeks later, the idiot with the auger/tractor, was digging ANOTHER fence post hole and took out our water main at another site. He fixed it this time the next day. My husband and I both lost a day of work due to not being able to take showers.

Last October, the idiot was digging AGAIN, this time with a backhoe attachment, and broke our valve on the main well and didn't tell anyone until it was discovered two weeks or so later when contractors were out here to do something else. This time, we had to pay nearly $200 to fix that.

This past weekend (Friday) the dumbass digger took out our phone service (this is the second time he's done this) and also our cable/internet. I work from home so this was a REAL bad time for me.

I recently remembered my husband as a legal plan via his employer and we went to an attorney to have him write a demand letter but it seems to be stalling - that's my next phone call, to see what's up with that.

Now we come to yesterday when he was making veiled threats towards me to another neighbor, telling her (and he was drunk as a Lord) that he wasn't planning to pay the bill to fix the valve because "...my name wasn't on it" and "...if they try to make me (patting his firearm on his hip) I have an equalizer". Then he made a pretty off color comment to the neighbor when she told him her husband was coming home, along the line of. "Oh, I wanted to get naked with you before he came home". And then followed it up with, "But I see her husband isn't home yet" pointing to our house.

In doing some research into this yahoo I discovered he and his ex-wife both were found guilty in 2005 of 20 counts each of animal abuse/neglect towards horses and one count each for abandonment/abuse/neglect of poultry. In addition to that, on the same day, they were both arrested for neglect/abuse of a minor, two counts each. In addition, I found in the statewide court records site that this guy was divorcing two women, one in our county, one in another county about 4 hours north of here, at the same time, with one filing for divorce two months before the other one was final.

I could really use some advice here. My husband is out of town until April 17th and to be honest, I'm a little frightened of this guy, especially when you consider he has three different domestic violence charges of which he was found guilty over the last 15 years.

 

[HomeGuru]

What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? Arizona

I live in a rural area of SE Arizona and the laws usually pertaining to land, digging, etc. don't apply here. (This is a SHORT note to help clarify the rest)

Last August, a couple purchased the 4 acre parcel next to our 4 acre parcel. Their intent is to eventually build a house there but for now they are using it to put three horses in a small corral. In putting up the fence posts last August, the male of this malignant duo, using an auger on a small tractor, dug into our water main and broke it. He was supposed to fix it the next day but never showed up and we ended up going into town (a 60 mile round trip) to get the parts to fix our water. My husband lost a day of overtime doing this.

Three weeks later, the idiot with the auger/tractor, was digging ANOTHER fence post hole and took out our water main at another site. He fixed it this time the next day. My husband and I both lost a day of work due to not being able to take showers.

Last October, the idiot was digging AGAIN, this time with a backhoe attachment, and broke our valve on the main well and didn't tell anyone until it was discovered two weeks or so later when contractors were out here to do something else. This time, we had to pay nearly $200 to fix that.

This past weekend (Friday) the dumbass digger took out our phone service (this is the second time he's done this) and also our cable/internet. I work from home so this was a REAL bad time for me.

I recently remembered my husband as a legal plan via his employer and we went to an attorney to have him write a demand letter but it seems to be stalling - that's my next phone call, to see what's up with that.

Now we come to yesterday when he was making veiled threats towards me to another neighbor, telling her (and he was drunk as a Lord) that he wasn't planning to pay the bill to fix the valve because "...my name wasn't on it" and "...if they try to make me (patting his firearm on his hip) I have an equalizer". Then he made a pretty off color comment to the neighbor when she told him her husband was coming home, along the line of. "Oh, I wanted to get naked with you before he came home". And then followed it up with, "But I see her husband isn't home yet" pointing to our house.

In doing some research into this yahoo I discovered he and his ex-wife both were found guilty in 2005 of 20 counts each of animal abuse/neglect towards horses and one count each for abandonment/abuse/neglect of poultry. In addition to that, on the same day, they were both arrested for neglect/abuse of a minor, two counts each. In addition, I found in the statewide court records site that this guy was divorcing two women, one in our county, one in another county about 4 hours north of here, at the same time, with one filing for divorce two months before the other one was final.

I could really use some advice here. My husband is out of town until April 17th and to be honest, I'm a little frightened of this guy, especially when you consider he has three different domestic violence charges of which he was found guilty over the last 15 years.

**A: you really need to follow up with that attorney.

 

[NDickinson]

Follow up with Attorney

I am getting his phone number now but having been coming to this site for some time now, I've always enjoyed the creative ways you all have in messing with people, legally.

I was hoping I wasn't the only one who saw a variety of way to mess with this guy using the legal system.

 

[drewguy]

The main issue is recovering damages for the damage his construction has done to your property. That's what the lawyer is for.

The other issues are ancillary, but you could call the county sheriff to ask whether (a) his animal cruelty charges bar his keeping animals and (b) whether any of his crimes bar him from possessing a gun, which he appears to possess. It seems unlikely that his mentioning his "equalizer" to another neighbor is sufficiently threatening to warrant much in the way of police intervention, however.

 

[dlw99]

Guns aren't the only "equalizers"

Do you have dogs, an alarm system, or a video camera?

I would report the comments/threats AND the property damage to the police immediately.

You can buy pepper spray or even a tazer pretty easily out there, can't you?

If you don't normally lock your doors, be sure you do it now.

Keep your camera charged, and if you have dogs, keep them inside with you at night.

If this guy is a violent drunk, you probably need a cop more than a lawyer at the moment!

 

[NDickinson]

What I've done so far...

The main issue is recovering damages for the damage his construction has done to your property. That's what the lawyer is for.

The other issues are ancillary, but you could call the county sheriff to ask whether (a) his animal cruelty charges bar his keeping animals and (b) whether any of his crimes bar him from possessing a gun, which he appears to possess. It seems unlikely that his mentioning his "equalizer" to another neighbor is sufficiently threatening to warrant much in the way of police intervention, however.

I have a message in to our attorney to let him know of the new hostilities as well as to find out where the heck the letter is he was supposed to send.

Then -

1. I contacted my local law enforcement regarding his bigamy. They looked him up on the websites I told them about and confirmed he was, indeed divorcing two women at the same time, in two separate counties in AZ. They are opening an investigation.

2. I called Zoning to see if his fence was in violation and was told since he's on a corner lot, he was supposed to get a permit for any fence more than three feet high. They had me file a complaint and they will pursue remedies that way.

3. Was checking my animals in the barn when I noticed his fence is encroaching on the easement put in place on his parcel and the one next to him for the electric company to get to the pole on the corner of both our properties. There is no easement on our parcel so it's all his. I called the electric company and talked to their construction specialist who assures me the guy was already warned to move his fence as it was in their easement. Now the electric company is making plans to send out a crew of their own to tear down his fence. They don't even need permission from anyone to do it and they plan to bring a peace officer given this guy's propensity for violence.

4. Have a message in to the state Animal Control officer in charge of equines to let him know the animals STILL aren't being taken care of and there are signs that more are on their way in the form of a new corral.

5. Am still trying to get hold of the court the sentenced him in the 20 counts of animal neglect/abuse to find out if he's even permitted to own animals.

6. Confirmed the guy was forcefully entered into a mental health facility in 1990 by a county court up north and am waiting for a deputy to call me back so I can let him know someone either has weapons illegally or lied on their form to get one. He had his civil rights restored in 2003 so if no real background check was done, or he lied outright... When we bought our last weapon, I recall the form asking if I had ever been committed or deemed incompetent or something like that. Bottom line is, he has a history of mental illness and owns a weapon. Isn't that a big no-no?


***SIGH*** If he had only paid the $168 he should have paid to fix the valve he broke. Now he put himself on my radar and I had to turn all bitchy...

 

[NDickinson]

Neglected to respond to this one earlier...

Do you have dogs, an alarm system, or a video camera?

Yes, no and no... We have three dogs, one a shepherd/lab mix, one a coonhound and the third a pug. The coonhound would have him for lunch. None of the dogs are what one would call vicious but none of them like the neighbor. You know what they say about dogs and children being the best judges of character.

No, we don't have an alarm but just last week I had talked to a company about a quote, before the neighbor got really ugly. We'll have the money to take care of that next month.

No, the video camera is broken, however, I am a professional photographer and writer so I have a camera I can set up to take photos with should I need to do so as well as a recording device I can use to record anything threatening he might say. It is legal in Arizona for just one person to be aware of the recording.

I would report the comments/threats AND the property damage to the police immediately.

Done and on the record, including statements from a neighbor.

You can buy pepper spray or even a tazer pretty easily out there, can't you?

I have a Smith & Wesson .357, a shotgun loaded with bird shot, a Henry rifle .22 magnum and the Arizona make my day laws that can handle this much more effectively than pepper spray or a tazer. The handgun is on my night stand, the rifle is in the laundry room (an escape route) and the shotgun is in my bathroom (in case I am trapped). My teenage son also has a rifle he keeps in his room. We have a deal for whenever my husband's out of town that if someone breaks in, whomever is able to get to a weapon first shoots first. I have been assured, repeatedly, by local LEOs that no one's going to jail for protecting their home from an intruder using lethal force. They shared with me a man a couple months ago not far from us shot and killed an intruder and he wasn't even taken to the station for making a statement. Done, taken care of...

If you don't normally lock your doors, be sure you do it now.

I live less than a mile from the Mexico border and illegals run amuk. Doors are always locked as are all windows.

Keep your camera charged, and if you have dogs, keep them inside with you at night.

Camera is always charged and dogs are indoor dogs. I never keep them outside all night and they sleep at the entry way of both doors to my bedroom as well as our son's room and take turns sleeping at the front door, across the bottom of it. No one's getting past them w/o a fight.

If this guy is a violent drunk, you probably need a cop more than a lawyer at the moment!

The deputies here have the drunk lout on their radar now, particularly since he's a career criminal. They also know that should I dial 911 and there is no response, it's because of him.

 

[dlw99]

Love Those Arizona Gun Laws!

When it comes to both posession of firearms and use of lethal force, Arizona is like a different planet from Massachusetts!

Just keep in mind that while he may be on your "radar", you are probably even moreso on his, and he is a violent, mentally ill person.

A retired judge once told me that "crazy people have a lot of energy". I have learned that the hard way. Mercifully the person whose radar was on me (and my family) is now locked up in a state mental hospital.

Most of these neighbor problems come down to a battle of credibility.

If what you say is true about your neighbor, you shouldn't have any problem having this guy arrested if he starts trouble on your property, but to be safe I would really try to avoid contact with him completely.

 

[NDickinson]

When it comes to both posession of firearms and use of lethal force, Arizona is like a different planet from Massachusetts!

Just keep in mind that while he may be on your "radar", you are probably even moreso on his, and he is a violent, mentally ill person.

A retired judge once told me that "crazy people have a lot of energy". I have learned that the hard way. Mercifully the person whose radar was on me (and my family) is now locked up in a state mental hospital.

Most of these neighbor problems come down to a battle of credibility.

If what you say is true about your neighbor, you shouldn't have any problem having this guy arrested if he starts trouble on your property, but to be safe I would really try to avoid contact with him completely.

To be fair, we primarily have the weapons we have so we can protect ourselves and our animals from predators and snakes. (Okay, the hand gun kind of makes that argument invalid but...)

I avoid this guy like the plague and have no reason or intention of approaching him in any way, shape or form so if there's any interaction, it's because he came onto my porch.