How to deal with a bad neighbor?

[Jason Beal]

Mother in laws neighbor...Here is some history on the guy.

1) Retired.

2) Seems to bully everybody on the block around with threats. People will say things like "Whatever you do, don't get ____ upset."

3) Has complained about everything you can imagine. Calls the city on the smallest thing, you name it and he calls and complains. Although he has a shed built in his back yard that is against the Deed restrictions.

4) In the past when I lived here before he'd walk his dog and let it poo in my mother-n-laws yard.

5) In general: First class jerk.

For a short while we will be with the mother-in-law helping fix up the house and then find our own place. She needs a fence and I told her I would build one. We have two dogs (half Lab, half Australian Shep) that are little love dogs(as sweet as can be). I rigged this old bamboo fence-thing up to keep them in the yard for a couple of days.

In the morning they got out and ran into the Jerk's yard. I am unaware this happens. He then comes over to our house and starts to tell my MIL that he we have a "dog problem" and we need to fix it. I hear this, I understand that he is upset, even though I remember the kind of guy he is. I know that the fence is going up that day or the next and I will keep them on the porch in the meantime. But....then he says "I will shoot the dogs if I see them again. I will shoot them with my .38". At this point I can not sit on the couch and go to the front door.

At this point he is yelling and telling me my dogs "attacked his wife" and that she was scared for her life. (These dogs are harmless, there is no way this happened. One dog's name is "Swea-pea", she's such a baby). Then says he will hit the dogs with a stick if he sees them too. I try my best to remain calm but he is yelling and tells me to "go to hell". I tell him the fence is going up and to calm down that I apologize for the dogs in his yard, but there is no reason to act like this. Then he told me he was going to sue me. I told him that he may indimidate everybody on the block, but he did not scare me and to be nice and go inside his home.

Fence went up the next day.

First Hurricane. MIL garage is packed with odds and ends so we are parking the cars inbetween the houses for protection. I park as close to our house as I can. Day after the storm, my front right tire is flat. There is a screw in it. I can not be sure he did this, but it sure seems odd.

Today is storm number two and I had to pull my car in there again. This time the guy went and put up two stakes and a rope to indicate not to drive through his yard. We had not done this before, but now I feel that I may have a flat tire again. I feel that he is getting worked up over this.

The guy is a nut and a jerk. I wish I was an old man. If I was I'd punch him right in the jaw like he deserved. But being half his age this isn't an option-LOL.

Is him threatening to shoot my dogs against the law?

If my tire has a screw in it again after this storm, what should I do?

The thought of him hitting or hurting my dogs is an image in my head that makes me feel sick to my stomach. It really bothers me. I am scared that he might try to feed my dogs anti-freeze or something like that. I really worry about it, because the guy is such an ass.

Advice is welcome. I remember reading about another bully in a thread a while back.

[william rogers]

shoot him six times with a big bore snubbie , works every time............

William Rogers............

[MTI]

Originally Posted by Jason Beal

Is him threatening to shoot my dogs against the law?

If my tire has a screw in it again after this storm, what should I do?

I'm pretty sure that discharging a firearm in a residential area is a no-no, however there are communities that allow landowners to dispatch unleashed dogs on their properties, usually where there are livestock, such as poultry or other animals at risk from maurading dogs. I would check with your local police about the threat.

The screw in the tire is suspicious and should be reported to the police as a vandalism complaint, so that there is a record of the incident. Most "bullies" are cowards and windbags, hence the verbal attacks and threats of lawsuits. It would be interesting to find out if he's ever filed one. Some jurisdictions have online databases of civil suits searchable by name. Might be interesting to find out.

The key thing to keep in mind is that your MIL has to live there and if your presence is temporary, then perhaps it might not be a good idea to heat up the situation.

[koop]

I had a guy threaten to kill my dog once. I told him

"Mister, you kill my dog, I'm digging two holes"

Hi Jason.

Sorry to hear about the problems your having.
Try this.

Keep a video camera handy.

Each time this jerk trespasses on your MIL property and does or says something stick the camera in his face.

Make sure the camera has the ability to record sound too.
This way anything he says or does will be recorded and can
be used just in case he desides to pull some funny stuff.

This alone might cool his big mouth down a bit.

Also in a friendly manner remind him that he has a nice
shed and it would be a shame if it needed to be torn down.
Inform him of the fact that you notified the police department
of the tensions between your family and him.(Tell them everything he said.)
At the same time remind him that the vandalism to your tire was
reported too at that time.

He's no going to do anything during the day.
If at all possible put a strong light on your car at night when
it is park next to the house this puts him in a position that he
could get caught if he does something to your car.
Or put a sprinkler on your car this way he'll have to get soaked
in order to get to your car.
Or put a lot of stuff in front of the tires, glass and anything that
makes a rackett when moved is prefered.
OR a combination of all.

Best thing to do would post a guard out of sight and when
he comes near the car welcome him with some buck shot
of a double barrel shot gun.LOL
DON'T do this YOU might be the one ending up in jail.


Once you have some proof that this guy is a lunatic then
your MIL can file for an order of protection.
This way each time this nutcase comes to close, your MIL
can call the police and they will arrest him.

But as I said, have a camera ready and record all his movements
on your MIL property.
Not his, because that would be a violation of his privacy.

Good luck.

Louis.

[KirkVining]

This guy sounds more than dangerous. You need to file a complaint with your local police department on his threat to shoot your dogs. I don't agree with the previous poster's idea to not complain in order to keep peace in the neighborhood. A visit from the cops is sometimes enough to calm a guy down, especially seing how he doesn't want to be friends anyway. Better he knows you mean business than to let some bully think he can get away with frightening people.

If you don't mind spending a few bucks, just the fact this guy has threatened to use a weapon is enough to get a restraining order on the guy so you can have him thrown in jail the next time he comes on MIL's property. Restraining orders are the best way to deal with *******s like this. If you and a few of your neighbors get them, when the cops come to the neighborhood they are going to have him pegged in advance as a known troublemaker who has threatened gunplay. They will haul his butt off to jail given any excuse, and also gives you a legal record that you have had trouble with the guy if he does attempt a frivolous suit.

Personally, I think anyone who wants to kill someone's lovable pet is a sociopath. Involve the police anytime you deal with the guy. That's what they are for. Also, make sure your up on local laws, what is the legal way to park off property, leash laws, firearm ordinances etc and observe then scrupously. Usually a short visit to your local police station will get you that kind of information.

[Hatterasguy]

Kirkvining already said it, a restraining order is probably the best way to go. I would also get an old beater pos car that leaks like crazy. Park it in his front yard and see what he does. He can't tow it and if he damages it you can get him for vandalism. Or you can just abandon it.

[LK1]

I assume that you have a shared driveway. Nice of him to stake out his property. I'd hire a surveyor to get an accurate property line. Then I would erect the tallest fence allowed by law.
Short term I would install a 300 Watt motion sensing light that covers your car and property. You can also pick up an outside video camera from Radio Shack and a time lapse video recorder. This will document any intrusions by your neighbor.
The restraining order is the way to go. As he has threatened to shoot your dogs (and you, catch my drift) the police will require him to turn in his weapons.
I would never turn my back on a bully, this only encourages them.
Good luck.

I agree with Kirt. File a complaint with the PD. Make sure you make it sound like he is unstable and you feared for your safety when he was ranting and raving. Anonymous call to the zoning commission regarding the shed. At the slightest provocation, call the PD again. Under no circumstances, get in a shouting match with him. You need to appear stable and him not. Eventually, he will crack a bit and say or do something that will get him arrested. Then, with a criminal charge against him, its civil suit time. That will shut the old SOB up....

[JimSmith]

Jason Beal,

Take Kirk's advice. But it strikes me as odd no one has suggested a posse to move in and take over his property, maybe lynch him or dig a hole and let him live in it for a few months and only let him out when he has been cured.

While in college I rented a fairly large apartment in a three story building at a very good rate in a slum in downtown Troy, NY. Well, anything in downtown Troy, NY was pretty much a slum back then. Anyway, I get a visit from the local cops one day. They want to know if I know the guy in the basement apartment. I never noticed a basement apartment, I tell them. The cops leave. My girlfriend's mother, now my mother-in-law, sends me a newspaper clipping about a body the cops found in an alley behind my apartment a few days ago (would have been the day of the visit by the cops). Seems it turns out to be alive, but barely. It is a male attendent from a mental hospital in a nearby Massachusetts looney bin. He was lured there by a former patient he was abusing in the bin. She and her boyfriend rented the basement apartment, got the guy in there, then tied the guy up for weeks and tortured him, then threw him into the alley when it looked like he was finished and tried to flee.

There are some logistics problems that have to be addressed, especially in your case. The girl and her boyfriend got caught, for example, and spent some time in the klink. But that guy will never mess with anyone in a looney bin again. Jim

You could always salt half his lawn, then overfertilize the other half. Keep him busy with something other than your MIL

Originally Posted by LK1

I assume that you have a shared driveway. Nice of him to stake out his property. I'd hire a surveyor to get an accurate property line. Then I would erect the tallest fence allowed by law.
Short term I would install a 300 Watt motion sensing light that covers your car and property. You can also pick up an outside video camera from Radio Shack and a time lapse video recorder. This will document any intrusions by your neighbor.
The restraining order is the way to go. As he has threatened to shoot your dogs (and you, catch my drift) the police will require him to turn in his weapons.
I would never turn my back on a bully, this only encourages them.
Good luck.

I agree with this calling the police will only get his jolly's going, all old grumps are looking for is attention.

You could also give him a computer and he can rant on Mercedesshop with Kirk, if they get into a post war he surely won't have time to go outside and mess with your dog.

[Plantman]

If you "coincidentally" get another screw/nail in your tire, he would wake up to find four in his tires. Maybe four broken windows too!

I don't give a s**t how old he is, if he's an *******, I'd do onto him, etc.....

If you were to call the cops and report the threats, you'll have it documented. Don't let him complain to the cops about your dogs first.

I'd let your dogs loose on his neck.....

My neighbors dog was barking incessantly for 4 hours while I put up my shutters the other day. I gave him a handful of herbal doggie tranquilizers ang he was out cold for the rest of the day.....

[KirkVining]

Originally Posted by MedMech

I agree with this calling the police will only get his jolly's going, all old grumps are looking for is attention.

You could also give him a computer and he can rant on Mercedesshop with Kirk, if they get into a post war he surely won't have time to go outside and mess with your dog.

Whether he gets attention or not it creates a legal paper trail of cmplaints and restraining orders that may come in handy if Mr. Wacko teems up with a lawyer.

The old gentlemen's intelligence level is probably too high for some Mercedesshop posters to handle. Don't burden them more than they already are.

Originally Posted by KirkVining

The old gentlemen's intelligence level is probably too high for some Mercedesshop posters to handle. Don't burden them more than they already are.

I used to credit you for NOT making stupid intelligence remarks but it seems like you tore a page out of JB book.

too bad.

Regarding the ol crusty due, what type of town do you live in? You might get a little more help from the pooooolice in a smaller town. In Michigan if you file a PPO you are not required to notify the person of the PPO, if can do it that way you can start your paper trail without unjustly riling up to OL' fart.


I had a similar situation and I just ignored him after I told him what was going to happen if he pulled anymore chit.

I'm sure almost every forum member that has ever had a neighbor has had some sort of a problem with a neighbor, that's why I building the new hacienda. One thing I wonder about weirdo's is they always seem to want to take out action on a persons pets instead of the real A-hole. i wonder if anyone here could elaborate on that.

One little thing tell grumpy ol men is "your looking a little pale, do you think today is the day?"