Neighbor Peeping into 2nd floor Bedroom window with drone at almost 1 am

[jb79]

I live in Virginia.

My family had our windows open to let the cool air in. My adult daughter was watching something on Youtube with headphones on at around 12:45 am. She began to hear a very strange noise and peeped out the window beside her which had the shade shut. She didn't see anything but the noise was very concerning. She then got up and stood in front of the other window which had the shade up. She then saw lights near the top part of the open window and realized it was a drone and became scared and ran to close the shades on other windows. She noticed our neighbor had his outside light on. She went back to shut the shade on her window.

She looked out the window and the neighbor turned his lights off and went inside. After maybe 5-10 minutes she heard the sound again nearby and went outside to look. She heard it but did not see it, but believes it was over her head, trying to look in the windows again because the noise sounded like it was stuck in the bushes or under the porch. But she heard it fly off then saw a light on it. When it finally landed, it landed in between two houses so she doesn't know who it belongs to.

We suspect it's from the neighbor who is a private investigator as he recently had a run in with my husband. The guy got mad at my husband for driving down the private road that we own. I guess he doesn't know we own it. The neighbor probably thought my husband was spying on him. He ended up calling the cops on my husband. This was a few weeks ago and the police did nothing.

My family has lived here for over 35 years and we've never had issues with anyone peeping in the windows. I find this despicable and it's left my daughter scared and upset. What if she had been sleeping? Or what if she was changing her clothes? Who expects anyone to peep in the window with a drone? Especially on a 2nd story bedroom.

When the drone was peeping in the window, my daughter estimates it was 12-24 inches away from the window. She's not 100% certain it was looking in as all she could see was lights. But why be that close to a second story window? Is this against the law? Is there anything we can do about it? Should we call the (non-emergency) police? Should we talk to the neighbor first? She was thinking of going over and politely saying something while audio recording the conversation (legal here). Both neighbors live in rental houses owned by the same person.

 

[Taxing Matters]

You may report it to the police. If the drone was hovering over yard then there is a trespass issue. There may also be a "peeping Tom" offense as well even if it was over your neighbor's yard. The problem is that the police need to have good evidence of who was operating the drone and it sounds to me like you don't have anything more than the suspicion of the neighbor as a result of the dispute you have between you.

 

[jb79]

UPDATE: My daughter was very rattled by this and couldn't sleep. About 75 minutes after the drone landed, it came back. My daughter could hear it (she's autistic and can hear noises most people can't). The neighbor's outside light went on/off about three times while the drone was here which suggests he is indeed the pilot.

It came back to my daughter's window which was now closed with the curtains closed and was flying right outside that window, just hovering there. It did it twice (it flew upwards briefly and then came back to that same window). The second time she shined a flashlight at it and it flew back to the neighbor's house and landed. She's pretty sure it landed at the house of the private investigator.

This time she had enabled the security camera that sits on the window sill of the hall window. It doesn't actually capture anything that would probably stand up in court though. All it shows is a light in the distance (neighbor's outside light) and a moving light that goes up and down (the drone). There's a light under it that sort of highlights the porch roof below it. We can tell what everything is, but doubt the police could as it's all just lights on a black background.

What the video does show to us is that the second time the neighbor flew it straight over here to look in the bedroom window. Isn't that against the law in Virginia? I would think a private investigator would know better. I don't understand why he kept coming back to that window either. I also don't understand why he keeps flying it around our house. It must have something to do with the altercation with my husband, but that was two weeks ago.

 

[LdiJ]

UPDATE: My daughter was very rattled by this and couldn't sleep. About 75 minutes after the drone landed, it came back. My daughter could hear it (she's autistic and can hear noises most people can't). The neighbor's outside light went on/off about three times while the drone was here which suggests he is indeed the pilot.

It came back to my daughter's window which was now closed with the curtains closed and was flying right outside that window, just hovering there. It did it twice (it flew upwards briefly and then came back to that same window). The second time she shined a flashlight at it and it flew back to the neighbor's house and landed. She's pretty sure it landed at the house of the private investigator.

This time she had enabled the security camera that sits on the window sill of the hall window. It doesn't actually capture anything that would probably stand up in court though. All it shows is a light in the distance (neighbor's outside light) and a moving light that goes up and down (the drone). There's a light under it that sort of highlights the porch roof below it. We can tell what everything is, but doubt the police could as it's all just lights on a black background.

What the video does show to us is that the second time the neighbor flew it straight over here to look in the bedroom window. Isn't that against the law in Virginia? I would think a private investigator would know better. I don't understand why he kept coming back to that window either. I also don't understand why he keeps flying it around our house. It must have something to do with the altercation with my husband, but that was two weeks ago.

Report the entire incident to the police. That is really all you can do at this point. Hopefully the neighbor will not want to risk his private investigator license and will back off.

He also needs to be made aware that you own the private road.

 

[adjusterjack]

I'm not sure that this is going anywhere without a video of the actual drone hovering outside.

 

[Zigner]

I'm not sure that this is going anywhere without a video of the actual drone hovering outside.

...and that it belonged to/was controlled by the neighbor.

 

[adjusterjack]

Paint gun comes to mind.

 

[quincy]

Virginia Trespass with an Unmanned Aircraft:

https://law.lis.virginia.gov/vacode/title18.2/chapter5/section18.2-121.3/

Get a copy of the law and send it, without comment, to the neighbor who you suspect is flying the drone over your property.

If he is in fact the one who is bothering your family, this may put a halt to his late night activities. In the meantime, you can try to get proof that the drone flights originate with him. Do not accuse him of anything without this proof.

 

[bcr229]

If your neighbor is the owner of the drone and he uses it for his PI work, then it has to be registered with the FAA and the registration number put on the drone. My husband uses one for his business and we just wrote the number on it with a permanent sharpie.

If you can manage to knock the drone down so it lands on your property, you get hold of it, and it has the registration number, you or local law-enforcement can check with the FAA to see who owns it.

 

[quincy]

Here is a link to drone laws in Virginia, including if/when a drone must be registered and when a use permit to fly is necessary:

https://uavcoach.com/drone-laws-virginia/#:~:text=One of those rules is,’re flying, and more.

 

[commentator]

You've lived there for many years, is this a recent neighbor? It may be what we have here, a lot of recent relocators. There is a lot of "send him" this and that, or "tell him this or that" being advised, and frankly, it sounds like this is one of the type of neighbors you do not want to have it out with if you can avoid it. He sounds like a guy who is looking for a project (like harrassing the neighbors) and might become a real long term problem. Of course when the police came and it was made clear that this is your road and you have a right to drive on it, he was told. Since he is a private investigator, he may have lots of contacts in the police department. I bet he is known, for better or worse.

I'd definitely make a report to the police that there was a drone in your yard, appearing to be trying to peep in your upstairs windows But instead of confronting or sending the neighbor a message, or sending him the pictures of his destroyed drone, what I would suggest is that you wait until the next occasion of seeing the drone, do not flash lights or pull down window curtains, just go about your business as if you didn't notice, and casually step into the next room and call the police. It would really cause this guy a bit of 'splainin' to do if his drone was observed by the police or found crashed in your yard by them.

He does not sound like a neighbor you want to confront without police presence. Going over and discussing the matter with him might be unhealthy. There are some really angry people around these days.

 

[jb79]

Does anyone if we could file an incident report or something with the police where we report the incident and video so it's on record, but the police won't talk to the neighbor? Is that possible? If we report it to the police, I do not want them talking to him without proof. I would like it documented with them in case it happens again.

The one thing I'm also having trouble with is whether the police could get FAA records to see if anyone was flying a drone that night. Would they do that? From what I've read, there's different types of drones that transmit different signals. So some could have been documented as flying that night.

I probably won't be able to file a report until Monday though. So far he hasn't flown it again.

 

[bcr229]

You are ASSuming the drone belongs to the one particular neighbor. The incidents could be a stupid teenager in a different house several miles away, depending on the particular make/model of the drone. Without the drone in-hand you can't prove who owns it. If you manage to knock it out of the sky someone (or someone's irate parents) may come looking for it.

The FAA isn't going to care unless a drone is being flown somewhere it shouldn't, such as near an airport or a hospital with a helipad.

 

[quincy]

Does anyone if we could file an incident report or something with the police where we report the incident and video so it's on record, but the police won't talk to the neighbor? Is that possible? If we report it to the police, I do not want them talking to him without proof. I would like it documented with them in case it happens again.

The one thing I'm also having trouble with is whether the police could get FAA records to see if anyone was flying a drone that night. Would they do that? From what I've read, there's different types of drones that transmit different signals. So some could have been documented as flying that night.

I probably won't be able to file a report until Monday though. So far he hasn't flown it again.

If the drone is flying outside your house again, you can call the police at that time. There is no reason to call the police now, or even on Monday or anytime else in the future, if the drone does not return.

 

[davew9128]

Paint gun comes to mind.

Please. That's weak sauce. A laser pointer would be the starting point, a slingshot and supply of rocks would be another effective alternative.