Threat from Nieghbor

[garandguy10]

xxx

[Blue]

Your "very very expensive" alarm system needs cameras.

[tyrist]

You were not out of line by requesting he not detonate them directly in front of your home however, I would advise you to no longer have contact with him. If he is setting off fireworks just make a call to the police non emergency line. If the threat he made to you is exactly how you stated it there is no crime since it was conditional. Just keep calling the police and hope he gets tired or gets caught.

[Ron-Solo]

Keep a log of incidents, and report any direct threats to the police. Do what you can to avoid contact, as he has already demonstrated that he will not listen to you. Call the police any time you witness illegal activity.

Find out if your PD has a "Special Problems Team" and arrange a meet with the team leader. Your neighbor is the type of person they like to deal with.

Best of luck.

Documenting any threats and police reports may also help you establish "good cause" for a CCW in the future. Always get a report number or incident number for future reference.

Best of luck

[Exile Machine]

Flying a Confederate flag? Check.
Family Ties to Idaho? Check
Heavy Tats? Check.
Blows Stuff Up? Check.
Death Threats? Check.
Head shaved to the skin? ______?

Right now you have 5 out of 6 signs for trouble. Depending on how you fill in the blank on that last item, determines your next move.

-Mark
P.S. BTW I personally have 3 out of those 6

[BillCA]

[H]e starts to walk across the street towards me, and I start to walk towards him we meet in the middle of the street, and I ask him what happened last night to set my alarm off, he stutters and stammers and say's that he was not sure, and I say that I think that a explosive devise set my alarm off and I tell him to not set off any explosive devices in front of my home again, he say's that it is the 4th of July and everybody is blowing things up. I once again tell him to not blow up any explosive devices in front of my home. that they are illegal, he then state's
"**** you, You can not tell me what to do, and if you try to stop me I will shoot you!, I will pop a cap in your ***". At that point I say nothing, and return to my home and called the local police and told them about the threat.

Rule #1 of neighborhood diplomacy:
Always "soft-sell" your displeasure with a neighbor over minor issues. That means asking them to change their behavior and at times giving them a cogent reason for doing so...
I'd appreciate it if you'd set off fireworks in your own (back) yard or somewhere else.
...or...
Hey, I like fireworks too. But those are the illegal kind and are way loud. And I'm expecting an elderly relative to visit for a few days and I'd hate for her to have a coronary because you set one of those things off.

Remember, once you escalate beyond "please" and "thank you" to making demands or threating to call police, the neighbor is more likely to dig in his heels and/or get angry. As we saw in your case.

Even if he gets obnoxious about your request, if you stay calm and don't engage in angry yelling in return, there's the potential to save the day. Some people refuse to be told what to do, but will cooperate if you ask.

The Threat
I'd take the threat semi-seriously. If he continues to fire loud explosive devices, by all means contact the PD and let them know of it. You don't need to tell them who you think did it, but if you saw him doing it, then tell the PD it's "a heavily tattooed white male..."

Get a small journal book and keep it handy. Start recording any incidents of loud noises or potentially illegal or disruptive behavior on the part of your neighbor. You hear a noise, look outside and see your neighbor. Write it down. Hear a noise, no neighbor, write it down. Record date & time and a description of the incident. This way, you have a neighborhood incident log to turn over to the cops/DA.

Park your cars in the garage. It's all too easy for someone like your neighbor to rig a device up to your car's muffler/cat/exhaust to fire off a minute or so down the road.

If he throws fireworks at you or your home, duck away quickly. I don't know if it's still done, but in the early 80's some Vietnamese gangs would dip M100's into glue and then submerge them in BB's to coat it. When thrown or launched, it acted like a shotgun blast. If he does something like this, immediately call 911 and report it as a bomb.

Final Suggestion:
Get yourself a webcam and mount it in a front window to monitor your front yard/driveway area. If nothing else, it gives you a safer way to "look out the window" than opening the drapes or blinds.

[cortayack]

I would've let things be, unless this was a nightly thing!

[Steve G]

I would call PD and report a bomb going off. You should definately get some cameras and a DVR installed.

[winnre]

Video camera on you ALWAYS.

[Onlyincali]

In all reality, you just made a big frikkin deal over a FIREWORK(excuse me.... A 5" long explosive device made of cardboard")

[BigDogatPlay]

In all reality, you just made a big frikkin deal over a FIREWORK(excuse me.... A 5" long explosive device made of cardboard")

And this....

"F*** you, You can not tell me what to do, and if you try to stop me I will shoot you!, I will pop a cap in your A**".

takes it to an entirely different, and unacceptable, level. Rather than try to be an adult and work out the differences, the neighbor across the street threatens physical violence.Yeah, that works.

Part of the issue here is that people very often don't take into account the people around them when they start lighting that stuff off. I enjoy good fireworks as much as the next guy, but there are limits.

Example.... I had some real problems with one of my dogs on 7/4. The sedatives we have to give them didn't kick in on the boy and he got so frantic from the M-80s and illegal aerial stuff a few doors away that he crapped himself in the house in terror. And we're talking a 65 pound Malinois, with all his teeth. I wound up drugging him a bit more and then driving out into the farmlands east of town and sitting in the car in the dark in the middle of nowhere with him for three hours until he finally chilled.

Think I was mad? Think I had a right to be, given that the fireworks in question are all 100% illegal? That I had to deal with dog crap in my house, and sit out with him for hours when I could have been enjoying my evening seems like kind of big deal to me.

I wandered down the street the next day and let the neighbor, who just moved in a couple of months ago, know what had happened and that I'd appreciate it if he would confine himself to the legal kind of fireworks in the future. We'll see what happens.

To the OP... glad you've installed camera(s) and DVR. As others have said, definitely keep a log. If moving is out of the question, then you're going to have to make the best of it. Depending on what kind of stuff is going on across the street, the city code enforcement unit (if there is one) can be a help as well.

[Ron-Solo]

In all reality, you just made a big frikkin deal over a FIREWORK(excuse me.... A 5" long explosive device made of cardboard")

NO, he made a big deal over ILLEGAL EXPLOSIVES (a Felony) that is posing a danger to his person and property.

A person's 'right to express themselves' does not supercede another's right to peace and quiet.

Every time he causes a problem, call the police on him and document it.

[manuelcardenas77]

Confederate flag white racist skinhead , noway I can't believe that one.

[gdun]

I don't know what county you're in, but it sounds like just cause for a CCW, especially with the police report.

[killmime1234]

Definitely avoid anymore unnecessary confrontations with the neighbor. However, in the event you do have to make contact, RECORD it. Either get a small voice recorder or use your cell phone and record the conversation. If he threatens you again, what was "borderline prosecutable" should quickly become a cakewalk for a DA. My $.02.