Crazy lady and I need help. Please!

treitz3

I have a neighbor that is driving the neighborhood bonkers. Here's the deal. I have this crazy lady that lives in my neighborhood. Now, when I mean crazy, I mean crazy. I have heard her talk to her puppy that isn't more than a year old and tells it "If you had taken the pills I told you to take years ago, you wouldn't be the way you are!".

Um, ok. The puppy is not even a year old and in fact, you are talking to a dog. Not a human being that can even comprehend WTF you are saying. This is par for the norm with this lady.

Everyday, without fail, she will "chat" to herself or supposedly on the phone with someone that she has been violated, sexually abused or the fact that somehow, someway she has been put down in a manner that is not acceptable to her. Normally this is part of someone's life that one would like to keep to him/herself. Then again, to her, this is apparently not the case. Normally I wouldn't care. BUT..............

This lady has all of her windows closed. All doors shut. Her house is totally sealed from the "normal" world. Or so you would think. She is so loud that I can't even hold a normal conversation on the phone on my front porch and I'm more than 100' away! I can even hear this one lady on my back porch. There is nothing I can do to shut her the F up! Nothing. Folks down at the end of the block can hear her clear as day. Not soft or to where the point to where you have to strain to hear her but LOUD. This is NOT normal.

I have pounded her door so hard that I can see light coming in from her townhouse when I pound at it. I'm quite sure that I have damaged her entrance and I have rang her doorbell constantly for multiple minutes at a time [sometimes upward of over 20 minutes]. Really, no lie and though normally this is not my demeanor, this has become commonplace. Hear me out.

We [the HOA and the community] have tried every possible angle to get this lady ousted from the community. Here's the catch.

She has a court recognized mental disorder that they are forced [under law] to recognize. There is nothing that they can do. The lady answered the door one time and she got arrested. Now, she knows that if she doesn't answer the door, she won't get arrested for public disturbance. This is where the issue starts. Her noise when talking is about 60-70, maybe 90 to 100 db above normal talking levels. I don't even think that my stereo can.............no, my stereo can't make the amount of noise that travels that far to disturb all the neighbors. No bull, and my rig can make some noise as most of you know.

This lady has had the cops called on her over 50 some odd times. I have even had the Captain of the police force out here to speak with me. I told him that I was the VP of the HOA and gave him the history of what was going on. He even heard her rant excessively as I was talking with him. There is nothing that he could do. He phoned the chief of police and because she had a court recognized mental disorder, there was nothing he could do.

Dangit, there's GOT to be something that can be done. Something. Because of the privy information I have, I know that 9 different neighbors have called the cops on her and her BS. Sometimes, 3 neighbors at a time calling, all at the same time resulting in 5 cop cars showing up. She's been arrested once and the court dismissed the charges because of her mental disorder.

What would you suggest if you were in my neighborhood's position? We are a [normally quiet] townhouse community in which all neighbors are cordial, polite and respectful of one another. This is something we are not prepared for and I would like to ask for some assistance please. Is their anything that you would suggest?

treitz3

Whatever you might suggest, please make it legal. This is something that will make our little neighborhood a much better place to live. Any and all advice is more than welcome.

leroyjr1

Do you own a gun? How far are you from the woods:)


Might be time to move.

treitz3

Moving is not an option at this point. I would love to but with today's economy and our income, it is not feasible. I wish it were.

Besides, why should we have to move because of her? There have been enough folks that hve moved already. I would just like to know how to nip this issue in the bud. There has to be something that we can do. She's driving down the value of our property. That's just not right.

CaligulaPolk

treitz3 wrote: »

Moving is not an option at this point. I would love to but with today's economy and our income, it is not feasible. I wish it were.

Besides, why should we have to move because of her? There have been enough folks that hve moved already. I would just like to know how to nip this issue in the bud. There has to be something that we can do. She's driving down the value of our property. That's just not right.

i guess INGORE is best option u have now.

treitz3

That's not an option. I was on the phone with another forum owner the other day and I couldn't hear him. I'd like to reiterate that I'm 100 or more feet away from this ladies house. I should be able to carry on a conversation over the phone with her being that far away..........considering her windows and doors are already shut.

I have [and my neighbors have] ignored enough.

manman

based on everything you described, it doesn't really seem like there is anything you can legally do, but move out. You can't force her to live somewhere else, and I don't know what the deal is with her mental disorder but it sounds like that will make it hard to get her on any disturbance issue either...

Sound proof your home??

SKsolutions

Get her committed.

lightman1

Shut yer pie-hole Tom!
Is it the neighbor out front and to the right across the street? I thought some folks were fighting last time I was there. She is LOUD!
Punch her in the throat. That'll do the trick!

treitz3

Yes, that's her. It's just her though. Talking to herself, I guess. Nobody would want to listen to her rants. Not even her mother. Not for that long. Not at that level.

Rivrrat

Check for noise ordinances and get yourself a decibel meter.

CaligulaPolk

call police and all they can do tell her to shut up, best legal way to do so.

BlueFox

CaligulaPolk wrote: »

call police and all they can do tell her to shut up, best legal way to do so.

That works, but you have to be persistent. I had an alcoholic redneck for a neighbor who, every Friday and Saturday, had his alcoholic friends over. Year round they would sit outside screaming and yelling until 4-5 AM. I almost sold my Polk SDAs because Polk sold outdoor speakers that this fool installed, and blasted music into his backyard, and into my house. I loved his rational for his behaviour, "Its my right."

Anyway, after a while he got tired of the cops always showing up so he moved.

JohnLocke88

Have you checked the related civil laws regarding this. If you don't have any options in the criminal realm (disturbing the peace, etc). My best suggestion is to get good legal counsel to see what you really "can't" and "can" do.

danger boy

there should be something in writing in your housing agreement that all residents have to abide by.... no excessive noise, ie: no loud stereos, no loud parties, etc. her excessive voice should fall into that category. you may have to send her a legal notice with 30 days to correct her noise problem.. or else she could be evicted from the townhouse property.

#2 call her mental health case worker. get that person's name and phone number and call them each time she yells loudly. mention to that case worker that she is always "talking about killing herself" lie if you have to. Tell her case worker you are concerned for her welfare.. and that she may need to be admitted into the care of a 24 hour mental hospital so that she doesn't harm herself or others.

the court's should realize that even though she has severe mental problems, she still has to abide by the law... and she may be breaking a noise ordinince in your neighborhood.

good luck.. this seems like a tough one to fight.

george daniel

Tom,, your best approach may be through your local mental health agency/provider.Surely there is soneone,visiting nurse etc, that can check on her and maybe get her to stay compliant with her meds-etc. Good luck,hopefully your county has some rules/regulations that can be enforced to everyones satisfaction.

mewisemagic

have you tried asking her out on a date:)

TNRabbit

mewisemagic wrote: »

have you tried asking her out on a date:)

OR...perhaps to join you & your wife in a threesome?

Face

mewisemagic wrote: »

have you tried asking her out on a date:)

He can't do that, she's not related.

John30_30

Lower the Cone of Silence.

Google white-noise generators. It may work. Seriously. You and the neighbors may have to set up a network of them. Research it.

Here's one that looks high-end. http://www.lencore.com/product-files/Spectrai-NetMusicPageInterfaceCutSheet.pdf

Airplay355

Imagine what the poor dog has to go through.

ohskigod

Tom,


you gotta get the neighbors together and consult an attorney. IF the criminal realm is giving you resistance due to her "court recognized mental illness", then civil is the way to go. she obviously has assets (the house/condo)

gather evidence (a camera to record the house and noise coming from it with time stamps/dates et.al.) This might work both for a civil case, as well as documentation for the caseworker (it its "recognized, she has to have one....find him/her, most likly county/state level)

gotta channel that frustration into things that will get results. getting the neighbors together will keep costs of any activity down.

dont underestimate the lack of communication on government. given this lady's activities, in NJ she would already be labeled a threat to herself and removed if her activities were known and documented.......if your state doesnt know, and the police wont tell them.....guess what you have to do.

either way, your 2 pronged attack is

a) civil litigation....class action perhaps with you and neighbors.....get out there and talk to them and get them all on the same page. wanna know if this lady is crazy? see how she responds to a possible 5-6 figure lien on her condo. might not give immediate results, but when she sells the condo, you could be a happy camper when the money goes to you and your neighbors.

b) State/county authority in charge of her case. Believe me, if a ton of neighbors complain to a government agency, action might be taken. gotta be the annoying squeaky persistent as balls wheel on this, you and every neighbor, on a unified front. if the agency still resists. **** to every level of government you can.....mayor/cpouncil. state assemblyman, gongressman, senator. every elected official you elect. again, the more people on a unified from doing this as a whole, the better

wingnut4772

If it's a homeowner's association I am thinking that you guys have some authority to decide who can and can't live there. She must be in some kind of violation with all the disorderly activity. You may have to , as an association, act upon your bylaws or whatever to get her out.

As far as the popo go, if they don't witness it, and she's not outside, they are very limited.

Another option is if she has a family member they may be able to get a judge to get an ex parte order for her if they can convince him that she's a danger to herself or others but that's also a temporary solution. (although she may get help) Her association application should have a contact (maybe?) that could help you. It's a very difficult situation.

Jstas

Ya know, I saw the title of this thread and I thought "Man, dude shouldn't talk about his wife/girlfriend like that."

Then I read the post and was like "Dang. That sucks."

madmax

Set up a pa system, set up a tape loop which replays a second or two later everything it records, aim the speaker at the house and turn it up. I've been thinking about doing this for a barking dog. Should freak her out if she can hear it.

Does she see birds too?

Actually, she can't really complain then that you play music loud, could be a good thing.

disneyjoe7

I was thinking along the same line, but with talk shows. Playing several of them with speakers aimed at her house. The talks should drive her over the edge so to speak.

sucks2beme

Sounds like my sister in law. I moved 1500 miles away.
And it's still not far enough.

Jstas

Take the Mimi approach from The Drew Carey Show and set up some large venue speakers and blast Van Halen's "Panama" 24/7. That'll get attention for sure!

treitz3

wingnut4772 wrote: »

As far as the popo go, if they don't witness it, and she's not outside, they are very limited.

Another option is if she has a family member they may be able to get a judge to get an ex parte order for her if they can convince him that she's a danger to herself or others but that's also a temporary solution. (although she may get help) Her association application should have a contact (maybe?) that could help you. It's a very difficult situation.

The cops always witness it but she is never outside and even when she does [on a rare occasion] walk her dog, she's as quite as a mouse. She even yells and curses at the officers when they knock on her door. She knows not to answer it because if she does, she will get a violation or a quick jail visit. I had a Sergeant come out once and he said that they could issue her a $375.00 noise violation if it is before or after certain hours. I thought, cool. We'll just hit her financially.

After that meeting, not one cop has given her a violation and they have witnessed her banging as hard as she could on the front door and yelling at them at the top of her lungs at 3:00 in the morning. When I ask them to issue her a violation, they give me some song and dance and they end up driving away and not doing a thing because she won't answer the door. :mad:

We had, oh about three or four weeks ago 5 cop cars show up. She got into one of her fits and apparently multiple folks called the cops. What happened? Not a damn thing. She wouldn't answer the door. So, the 8 or so neighbors who were outside, freezing our buns off in the rain stood out there as the cops did nothing but give us the runaround on why they have their hands tied. It's VERY frustrating.

As far as her family goes, her mother stops by rarely. I saw her one time and asked her if she could do anything about what her daughter does. She looked at me as if to say "F off" but held it in and said "I will have a talk with her". Nothing happened. It turns out that in chatting with the officers, she has gone from neighborhood to neighborhood doing the same thing she's doing here. Most all of the officers that come know her by name, her case officer [they will not release her information and I don't know how to get it] and what neighborhoods she has lived in prior to coming here. They also inform me that they know her mother's number [which they will not release] and that her mother is in complete denial that her child has any issues. :eek:

We live in a quiet townhouse community with only one exception. That would be her. She needs to live out on a 4 acre lot, far away from another house and NOT 6" away from two neighbors. Why her mom buys her a freakin' townhouse with her history is beyond me. She knows what's gonna happen to all of her daughter's neighbors.

Oskigod, nice post. Thanks and we will look into what you said. I am the VP of our HOA and we have a meeting in two days. She has been brought up before [when I wasn't on the board] and the board said that they can not do anything. Now that I'm on, I might get a little bit more action. We'll see. As for the neighbors coming together? We are working on it, trying to find out every possible angle on how we can resolve this situation before we blow thousands on a lawyer.

The saddest thing about this whole situation is that on one side of her, the couple living there have two small children. Both of them are less than three years old. That family is scared to death of this lady and will not call the police because of fear of her retaliating on them and somehow harming the kids. The house on the other side of her, no one has lived there for about two years and for some strange reason, it won't sell. :rolleyes:

Conradicles

Have Russ go down and change her lights...then she will fall in love and be healed.

Just kidding...had to try to add a bit of humor...

CaligulaPolk

lit brown bag with **** in it on fire and ring the doorbell! hahaha



bad idea....:p