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Author Topic: Great. I just put my stupid neighbor in jail. (updated Jan 5)  (Read 19480 times)

Paul

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Great. I just put my stupid neighbor in jail. (updated Jan 5)
« on: November 16, 2008, 04:16:06 PM »
About 10:00 today Noon was doing a bit of gardening in the backyard near our east fence. She hears someone discharging a paint marker gun (paint ball gun) and looks over the fence to see the 50-something year old neighbor chasing his dog around the backyard shooting at it. Pop-pop-pop-YIKES. The dog runs towards our house and cowards under the neighbor's water softener. My wife said that the chase lasted long enough to wind the dog.

My wife comes in and tells me what she saw. I went out and didn't see anything. She pointed out where the dog was now hiding and all I see is a bit of hair - four inches maybe - and it's not moving. I'm not certain what to do nor am I certain what my wife saw. I go in and start to prepare lunch and think about the consequences of starting a war with the neighbor. I have the windows open - it's sunny and 85 degrees here. I hear pop-pop about twenty feet away in the side yards so I  walk out the back patio door and see the neighbor disappearing into his back patio door.

I asked my wife "again?" and she said yes, she just saw the guy walk toward the dog and shoot it point blank. I walk into my side yard which is about 18" taller than his and look down to neighbor's water softener. The dog is now visible and has a lime-green paintball spot on it's side. I stand their in disbelief.

The neighbor comes around the side of his home again, I assume that he's going to shoot the dog again, and I catch him eye-ball to eye-ball at a distance of about 15 feet. He's holding his right arm behind his back and I see a barrel sticking out from behind his thigh.

I say to him "do you have a firearm?"

He says back "do you have a firearm?" and brings his paint ball marker out where I can see it.

I ask him "Did you just shoot that dog? That's illegal?"

He starts to answer another question.

I ask him again "did you just shoot that dog?"

He starts to argue with me.

Me "I'm going to call the police"

Him: "Go ahead". My limit for disrespect from stupid people is a wee bit short - too many military years as a Chief and later Master Chief.

I come in and look up the non-emergency number for the sheriff and sit there and think for a bit. I still don't know if it's worth starting a war with the renter next door over his shooting his own dog. While I'm sitting there I hear pop-pop-pop again as the guy continues to torture his dog. That was enough so I dial the police. 

The sheriff comes to the house in about 30 minutes. The officer interviews Noon who saw the shot and me who confronted him. The sheriff is going to make contact but calls for back up. "If I go to the door and he points a paint ball gun at me ...".

Two more deputies arrive and they make contact. About 20-minutes later the guy comes out in handcuffs. 50-year old black male, 5'9" medium build wearing a light green shirt and off white pants, small hoop earring in the left ear, shaved head and a goatee. About ten minutes later animal control arrives. The police take pictures of the dog which hasn't moved in the hour or so since getting shot. Animal control reaches in and grabs the dog, it's alive but after being shot a handful of times it's in serious trauma.

Animal control seizes the guys dog. Police take shooter and his marker gun away. I assume that I'll get a call from the DA come business hours tomorrow. I'm also assuming that this will get prosecuted as a felony. In California animal abuse is a wobbler and can go misdemeanor or felony. I got involved with a felony case after a couple of stupid sailors who were aboard my ship kicked a cat to death. I was the command's do-process witness to make sure that the idiots got what they deserved and to represent the USN to the DA.

I'm a dog lover and shooting one for fun with a paint-ball gun at 15-20' is torture. If it was a stupid kid who didn't know what he was doing I can see possibly overlooking it after chewing the kid out but after confronting the guy face-to-face and him continuing to shoot the animal it was too much. I'm sitting here awaiting the guy's wife to come over and confront me now.

So most of you here have good a good head on your shoulders - what would you do? Do you think I went too far?
« Last Edit: January 05, 2009, 06:03:11 PM by Paul »
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jefenger

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Re: Great. I just put my stupid neighbor in jail.
« Reply #1 on: November 16, 2008, 04:33:40 PM »
Paul, I think you did 100% the right thing. Nowadays too many people will just look the other way, because they don't want to deal with whatever may come out of it. I would have done exactly what you did; in fact, I may have just called the local police department without even confronting the neighbor and possibly putting myself in harms way. Now, I'm all for hunting and fishing, etc. as what gets hunted is usually then put on the table for food, but shooting any animal without reason is just plain wrong. You did the right thing.

ETA - as for the wife, I think it would be best to just let her know that her husband is accountable for his actions and just leave it at that.
« Last Edit: November 16, 2008, 04:36:09 PM by jefenger »

Oz

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Re: Great. I just put my stupid neighbor in jail.
« Reply #2 on: November 16, 2008, 06:23:47 PM »
Rest most assuredly you the right thing - absolutely. Sorry you and Noon had to be a witness to senseless human cruelty. Terrible

Soylent Yellow

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Re: Great. I just put my stupid neighbor in jail.
« Reply #3 on: November 16, 2008, 06:40:04 PM »
I'm with you on this one Paul.  The guy's a jerk and hopefully he will get what he deserves.
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Bobby B.

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Re: Great. I just put my stupid neighbor in jail.
« Reply #4 on: November 16, 2008, 06:56:33 PM »
You did the right thing.  The guy's not right, obviously.

Have you had problems with them before?  Is this something totally out of left field or have they been whack-jobs all along?
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Paul

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Re: Great. I just put my stupid neighbor in jail.
« Reply #5 on: November 16, 2008, 07:54:41 PM »
We haven't said more than boo to them in the six months they've lived here. They are rarely at the house during the week and only seem to live here on weekends. They have ticked off some of the other neighbors with their vulgar rap music at early hours of the morning. One lady who I was asking to watch my back said that she got offended when she was walking her kids to school and heard a song with the "F" word in it. Yeah.

I'm three kinds of worried now. I just can't believe that someone would be so cruel - and stupid to continue the attacks after getting caught red-handed by a pair of witnesses.

Thanks for the kind words.
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FrankB

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Re: Great. I just put my stupid neighbor in jail.
« Reply #6 on: November 16, 2008, 08:20:42 PM »
Paul,

There is no question that you did the right thing. Hopefully this guy won't give you any trouble when he gets back.

Bobby B.

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Re: Great. I just put my stupid neighbor in jail.
« Reply #7 on: November 16, 2008, 08:42:35 PM »
Might not be a bad idea to keep Trixie the Wonderdog inside for a while, though.
I like sammiches.  And bacon.  Sammiches with bacon.  And chips.  Lots of chips.

Paul

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Re: Great. I just put my stupid neighbor in jail.
« Reply #8 on: November 16, 2008, 09:27:43 PM »
Most of the wonder is gone from the wonder dog - she gets carried up and down the stairs. Poor thing only makes right hand turns now ... and bumps into things and stands there and wonders what happened. Poor thing is 15 years old now. We're thankful for every month left.

That kind of loser is just the sort to wrap some rat poison in bacon and toss it over the wall.
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Bobby B.

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Re: Great. I just put my stupid neighbor in jail.
« Reply #9 on: November 17, 2008, 01:13:48 PM »
Just a thought...have you (discreetly) run any of the neighbors you trust up to speed about the situation? 
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XterracerX

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Re: Great. I just put my stupid neighbor in jail.
« Reply #10 on: November 17, 2008, 04:15:53 PM »
Paul... you are a true responsible neighbor and is definitely a rarity nowadays. No one, human or not, deserve to be abused as such. Hope the guy gets what he deserves...


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Paul

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Re: Great. I just put my stupid neighbor in jail.
« Reply #11 on: November 17, 2008, 08:45:45 PM »
Just a thought...have you (discreetly) run any of the neighbors you trust up to speed about the situation? 

Oh yeah. When I first moved here there was a "click" of eight neighbors. Four of them have moved out but four of us are still pretty tight. We don't barbecue anymore but chat around the mail boxes. The two neighbors across the street are retired and have my back. One is going to look up the home's owner from the title company and get a hold of him and say enough.

Today was peaceful. I think they work in LA or something as I never see them outside or even home during the weekdays.

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just_rick

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Re: Great. I just put my stupid neighbor in jail.
« Reply #12 on: November 18, 2008, 12:27:58 PM »
everybody is right... you did the right thing and unfortunately you might have to deal with some crap in the future but that is just part of doing the right thing... you might also want to talk to the guy's landlord... there are some civil law cases that make a landlord liable for any damage a renter does if the landlord knows or should have known that the tenant was a problem... the theory is that the landlord is allowing a "public nuisance" to continue to exist unabated... if you talk to the landlord that will put him/her on notice if there are any future problems... I know of a case where the neighbors successfully took the landlord to small claims court repeatedly in order to force him to "abate" the nuisance his tenant was creating... good luck!!
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onewaysoldier

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Re: Great. I just put my stupid neighbor in jail.
« Reply #13 on: November 18, 2008, 02:41:10 PM »
I agree, you made the right call.  Abuse, even to animals, is not something you can let slide from someone who's supposed to be a mature adult.  On top of that you warned and confronted him as well.

But, right ethical decisions are know for having difficult repercussions especially when someone disagrees with you.  Your decision could bring some grief on you and your fam.
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chad

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Re: Great. I just put my stupid neighbor in jail.
« Reply #14 on: November 19, 2008, 07:50:13 AM »
I understand that you don
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