for 10 years my next door neighbor has harrassed me and my family. He rings my bell to complain, goes into my back yard to shut off my water...

Question

for 10 years my next door neighbor has harrassed me and my family. He rings my bell to complain, goes into my back yard to shut off my water, throws his garbage on my property and has even told my husband that he cuts the grass too short, his car is too loud, my sons radio in his car is too loud and he even assaulted my son as he was leaving for work, kicking his car etc. I called the police. I do not know what to do I feel sick to my stomache over this. He is a very neurotic man. What can I do to prevent him from continueing this behavior?

Answer

A picture is worth a thousand words. Video, 10K. Costco sells nice camera and hard-drive systems for maybe $300 when on sale but I'm sure you can find something cheap on-line. There is a really nice one on sale for $499 with $200 off-thinking about it for myself because of what I do and so far, I haven't lost (and I go after animal abusers as well)...then again, I have very grateful rescue dogs, incl a Pit.

You listed a lot of criminal acts and acts that could open him/her to civil liability. Your $ damages probably aren't much but you can ask for damages based on your liberty interests. Then again, he/she might be "judgment proof" due to not having any money, willful acts are not covered by h/o ins, and he can always file for bankruptcy. You can go to the police station and get an Order of Protection, and if/when he violates it, it is a felony but people like that don't care and will probably escalate.

I would take the video to a lawyer and ask her/him what can be done. He/she might say the threat of further action might stop this and demand some remuneration, such as repair costs, the video system, lost wages, legal fees, etc...there isn't enough info here to know for sure and every judge is different, let alone every state. Aldo, make sure to document the emotional damage-if you have psych care, go. If not, get to your GP and discuss this-she/he might put family members on meds, such as blood pressure, anti-anxiety, etc. and there is a record of harm to your family.