Harassment, Stalking, Misconduct Need advice on an ongoing harassment/stalking/vandalism situation

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tired

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I need advice on a situation that has been going on for over year now. I have been continually harassed by my next door neighbor and a family member of his. Just to give you brief idea of what all has been happening:
1) Nearly every night (sometimes several times a night) they drive back and forth in front of my house honking excessively and yelling things(such as "fat f***** bitch!",etc). This goes on at all hours. They also sit out at the property line blasting their car stereo and yelling obscene things at me over the PA system one has in his vehicle.
2)They have vandalized my personal property (5 gallons of water in my gas tank,broke toothpicks off in my door locks twice,vandazied computer equipment,thrown beer bottles into my driveway,rammed my gate which I keep locked at night.......the list goes on and on).
3)They got my dogs out thru my livingroom window(I have to keep my dogs inside while I am not home as they have made threats against them),taking one dog in the truck with them and dragging the other dog behind the bumper down the driveway. The dogs lived(thank goodness!) but the one that was dragged required an emergency vet visit and medication for several days.
4)They've thrown lit (illegal I might add) fireworks into the building where I was working.
5)They quite often follow me when I leave my house(most often at night). They usually tailgate me for a while then turn off their headlights and continue to follow me until they see the lights from my cell phone as I am trying to call for help. I live out in a dark rural area,and who knows what they are planning on doing. They have, in the past, tried to run me off the road numerous times.
The list goes on and on. I have called the Sheriff's Department on them, but due to "budget cuts" the Sheriff's Department gave notice to everyone in the county that they were "no longer responding to calls that didn't involve life threats". I guess they don't see the potential for violence in whats going on.I would like to add that these two individuals have criminal records and were locked up not too awful long ago for vandalism (not related to me....they vandalized other property). I am truly at my end with this. It goes on daily, there's no end to it and it's affecting not only me(sleep deprivation,stomach problems,headaches,etc) but also my family (including my preteen child). Does anyone have any advice that might help me with this????????????? FYI, I have been keeping a log of all incidents,including dates and times.
Thank you!!
 
I am very sorry to hear this. This is a tricky situation, especially because the authorities are obviously not doing their job. These people are breaking the law.

Now what can you do. First of all, you should insist that your Sheriff gets involved. May be you drive to the station and talk to someone there, if you are there in person they cannot brush you off that easily as when you are on the phone. Insist and demand that they do something.

Second, if you can, get a video camera, digital video camera, something like this and record the incidents. Record especially any trespass onto your property, but also the harassment. Try to record these things unobtrusively first.

This might provoke your friendly neighbors into more harassment, so use your judgment. The idea is to get evidence. On the other hand, it might also make them to back off when they see that you are serious. You must decide based on your own judgment. If you can, you should even get a security camera installed which is clearly visible (if you cannot afford it, there are some nice looking fake cameras on the market, too). If these people notice that all they are doing will be recorded, it might help.

Then, if you want to, you can use these recordings for legal proceedings. You can file criminal complaints for criminal trespass, threats, harassment etc. You can file a civil lawsuit for every trespass onto your property and for nuisance, which is a legal term for acts that keep you from enjoying your property, things like you describe.
The civil lawsuit you would have to pursue on your own, though, the state does not help there.

If you feel threatened you should call the Sheriff, and don't let them brush you off, just state that yes, you feel your life is in danger. Once they respond, and you have good cause, you need to file a criminal complaint (cops get most frustrated by people who call them and then refuse to file a complaint, because then they kind of responded in vain).

You even might get a court order against those nice people if they are threatening. Any violation of this order would be something the Sheriff has to respond to.

Things like this are very tough to fight. You also might try to get others on board, your other neighbors for example.

Again, use your judgment. Any counter action by you might provoke them even more. Never hestiate to call the cops if you really feel threatened. If they don't respond, you should bring this to the attention of the public, too.
 
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