Neighbor Pulls his Handgun On Me

[Rudedog]

Thank you for your advice and taking the time to respond at length.

 

[leadcounsel]

True . The land lord is already making my neighbor do several things that he was wildly yelling about not doing. I think they may not be to pleased with him either. For instance the motorcycle will be gone soon.

Am I wrong in thinking that someone who pulls a gun should forfeit his concealed carry permit ? I know I don't pull mine on someone else's doorstep.

This is beyond "right versus wrong" or a contest of egos. Someone in a next door rental pulled a gun on you. According to you he's unhinged. What does a "restraining" order do? What does "pulling his permit" do? Don't be stupid. According to you the man isn't right in the head, and he's threatened you with lethal force. Do you think he's just going to be rationally told and comply with an order to not carry a gun? You're taking a big gamble.

I watch a lot of crime shows and have of course studied criminal law and practiced criminal law. A big % of homicides are from people familiar to us, and out of anger, ego, or revenge.

Make a wise decision, and move. No forwarding address. Even if you take a small financial hit. Staying there has a high probability of big legal headaches, big legal bills, criminal charges against YOU (even fabricated), you losing your permit or your guns, or worst of all an assault or death.

 

[leadcounsel]

You are not wrong. But if the guy is enough of a threat to get a restraining order, he's enough of a threat to move out. It's just a rental so the hassle factor will be minimal and moving would comply with the "don't go to stupid places at stupid times with stupid people" rule. It sucks that the stupid place is your current home, that the stupid times are "always" and the stupid person is your neighbor, but that suckage doesn't invalidate the rule.

Bingo and I love that advice.

Lots of correct, morally right people still died in history. Don't be one of them. Pick your battles. Pick a smart hill worth dying on. Your rental is none of this.

I've lived in rotten awkward uncomfortable bad situations and it sucks. It sucks when your home is the awful place and you have no place where you can relax. Always stressed and worried about the next tick of the clock and what it might bring. You can't sleep, you can't relax, you can't have guests, always on guard, etc.
And equally bad, when you are away you're wondering if your home is being vandalized or destroyed, pets killed, burglary, etc.
Not worth it.

 

[Certaindeaf]

First mistake was getting the police involved. Handle your own business. The "authorities" always make things worse, and "the system" takes forever. Trust me I know after dealing with scumbag cops and prosecutors before after over three years on a bogus trial in a kangaroo court that I won.

Why would your neighbor park his motorcycle in front of your shed and why would he just draw his gun on you if you had none of the firearms you were carrying exposed and in cases or boxes. How long has he been your neighbor. Why does he have a problem with you specifically?

OP was obviously wearing a red dress.

 

[Rudedog]

Me no savvy.

 

[SUPER X]

If this gets bad enough to "need" to hire a lawyer moving would be looking better all the time.

And cheaper

 

[SUPER X]

I absolutely hate situations like this. The stakes are VERY high, and now you are roped into a game you must play. The first to report is generally the "victim" and that makes all the difference. So as much as I absolutely hate getting law enforcement involved and a restraining order, that's the game you have to play. A restraining order is going to get ugly, and you might also expect to have one served on you. That or "red flag" (not sure if they have them there) is going to likely disarm you.

But this isn't going to likely end well. Tread carefully b/c I predict someone in jail, or disarmed, or sued, or dead. You should move as soon as possible.

Highly recommend immediately installing security cameras in all directions and covering all angles and your vehicle, shed, etc. If you have pets, monitor them. Your dogs and cats may end up missing or dead, poisoned, whatever. Property may be destroyed or stolen.

I would highly recommend moving as soon as possible. See if you can break your lease without penalty given the lethal threat, making it uninhabitable. Be out next week if possible. You might - thru an intermediary like your landlord - get an agreement with the other person neither of you is pursuing legal action and you are moving. All peaceful like so no headaches for anyone.

I've seen and personally experienced so much of this it's horrible to be involved in it. 20 years ago I was living in a formerly nice middle class neighborhood that experienced - let's just say an infestation of lower class folks who listen to loud music in their cars all day and night, sell drugs, etc.. The demographics changed overnight and property values dropped like a stone. One day my girlfriend came over and some young men working on a car on blocks next door cat called her. I yelled at them from my front yard, and I immediately had 3 or 4 very "colorful" men in my face in my front yard and one pulled a knife on me. If I had been armed I'd have had several corpses in my front yard. Luckily it was just tough talk on their part. I moved away days later.

I fully agree . Once the ball gets rolling its all down hill , The restraining order will probably just lite his fuse and he will need to some how retaliate . He can lie and cause OP more problems and money than it would cost to move.It sucks but its good he does not own his home and can leave at will.

 

[SUPER X]

The police will also be on high alert if they have to come back knowing you both have guns. A recipe for disaster

 

[HA556]

I have to agree with all the "move" recommendations! In the long run it's going to be cheaper and less hassles.

 

[Rudedog]

I decided to move a few weeks ago. It will take some time. I have had enough of Kate Brown.

 

[Goosebrown]

Sorry this happened. I bet it was terrifying at the time.

If it were me, I'd move. Right and wrong when dealing with unbalanced people is a fools errand.

 

[Unicykle]

Im as hard headed a person as it gets to my detriment and just on principal i would hate moving but i think its the best option this is exactly the type of thing that can go bad in so many ways for both of you on alot of different levels. I would speak to the police to get it on record but id try and find a way to break the lease and move immediatly before i moved forward with legal proceedings, crazy unhinged people do crazy unhinged stuff. Cameras are a great idea cause you can take them with you on the move and you should have them anyway and video footage is irrefutable.

 

[revjen45]

Nobody has mentioned ERPO yet. Don't discard the possibility that he could do that to you, OR that you could do it to him.
I know that such is anathema to us, but it may be a matter of who thinks of it first.
It might be a way to force them to live up to their own principles. Your neighbor really sounds dangerous.

 

[The Heretic]

Rental or not, for most people it is a big hassle to move.

That said, unless the neighbor himself moves soon (and that sounds doubtful), I would start looking to move.

You did the right things though and your plan to follow thru is good too IMO. But I would still move.

 

[MannyGlocks]

Please, move...pronto as possible.

 

[awshoot]

Rental or not, for most people it is a big hassle to move.
...

This is true -- moving sucks rental or not, but with a rental you don't have to sell the building itself before moving or pay mortgage plus rent/otherMortgage to move out before it sells. It's much easier to get out from under a rental in a bad area than a mortgage in a bad area.

 

[ar addict]

I watch the Deadly neighbor show on tv all the time. Good guy always looses. Get a order, stand your ground, and......
You will be on the show with a chalk outline. Your family may or not be with you.

 

[CLT65]

Just as an example of why you always want to be the first to tell your side of the story to the police; what if your nutty neighbor was a member here, and started a thread here first about his crazy neighbor and how he'd had to pull a gun on him (you) to keep from being shot?

We'd all be sympathizing with him, and giving him advice about his crazy neighbor.

(Of course, the caveat here is that one always has to be careful how and what you tell the police. If you choose your words poorly, they will come back to haunt you. Just the honest basics. The police are not your friends. They are professionals doing a job and if you blab on and make yourself look bad, it won't go well for you.)

 

[No_Regerts]

Just as an example of why you always want to be the first to tell your side of the story to the police; what if your nutty neighbor was a member here, and started a thread here first about his crazy neighbor and how he'd had to pull a gun on him (you) to keep from being shot?

We'd all be sympathizing with him, and giving him advice about his crazy neighbor.

(Of course, the caveat here is that one always has to be careful how and what you tell the police. If you choose your words poorly, they will come back to haunt you. Just the honest basics. The police are not your friends. They are professionals doing a job and if you blab on and make yourself look bad, it won't go well for you.)

Isnt there a "how to fortify my home...." thread that just got started somewhere?

 

[Murphy]

This story doesn't sounds right. What did the police report state? What reason did the sergeant give for not taking the other guy into custody?