Laws, common sense, neighborhood weirdness

Next-door-neighbor Jimmy is a weird guy. He's cool, mows my grass and waters my garden when on vacation, I do the same for him. I help him fix his cars, he buys me beer sometimes as pay. We shake hands, shoot the E36 M3, normal neighbor stuff. He has a misdemeanor on his record, although I don't know what for. He's given me his security system password, told me where he keeps his guns, etc.

He has one kid with now wife, she's 6. Seems fine.

He has one kid with ex wife, he's a wacko, he's 20 something. He lives a few states away with Mom.

He has a nephew that sometimes stays for a few nights on the weekends. He seems like a cool guy - I think in the service in some fashion.

Jimmy is terrible with money. He had his car repo'd recently. Without going into politics, he is one of those people who think that stopping payments and having the repo man come and get it is perfectly moral and fine thing to do if you decide you no longer want the car. His wife recently wrecked their newer car in a stupid at-fault accident. It was daylight, she came over to use our phone, no alcohol or anything else that I could see, and the kid was in the car.

Jimmy often gets visitors. Late at night. 8-12 ish. Car pulls up, sometimes they honk, sometimes they knock, sometimes they ring the bell. Whatever they're doing is over in tenish minutes and they drive off.

Last night a car pulled up, in the road, and honked twice while I was working on my truck. I popped out of the garage, stood in the light, and stared in disapproval. (SWMBO is pissed at me for doing this). I went back in after a few minutes. They pulled in the driveway, honked again. One person (not sure if there was more than one) got out and knocked or rang. House was dark. Got back in the car, pulled in the road, facing the opposite direction, honked a few more times. They drive off after what must have been over 20 minutes.

The second they drove off and out of sight, the lights in the house came on.

His mailbox is knocked down this morning.

Theories:

Not a meth house. The people and kid are too high-functional for this. He's not super well kept or anything, but he's not falling apart or acting weird or anything. That stuff can wreak havoc on kids, from what I gather, and she's fine.

It's not a loan shark. Jimmy is the kind of guy to default on car loans, not the type of guy to owe tens of thousands to a guy with gigantic friends who follow him around. Plus, if this was the case, they would have knocked the door down and broken his legs, right?

This can't be any crime or serious stuff, right? Wouldn't these guys do more than knock over his mailbox? That's "teenager wanted pot" E36 M3 from where I am sitting. I've heard of gambling houses down here, too, where people concoct these silly games of chance basing the results on weird interpretations of sports games and whatnot, could that be it?

What do I do? His cell and his wife's have been disconnected. Call the po-po? What do I tell them? "But officer, cars drive around and sometimes even stop at his house and they scare me". Manly, right? What's the correct way to concealed carry whilst welding? Grinding? Not sure how to approach it, but it's making SWMBO scared, and that's not cool.

Next time you see him out... ask if he sells weed and if he could to please do it a little earlier as the horn honking is making you think about beating the living E36 M3 out of him?

In reply to Giant Purple Snorklewacker: LMAO

Has he pissed someone off on craigslist to the point of listing his address as a call girl service that you pull up to an honk for service?

Selling weed, most likely. Had it next door several years ago. Alerted the police of the activity. Not sure what happened, but shortly after, they were gone.

If you're thinking about staying armed, find a quickly accessable spot in your garage to hide the weapon out of reach of children. If you're going to inspect trouble, tuck it in your belt/waistband.

That said, I agree with GPS, talk to him and see what's up.

He's dealing something for sure. Alert the police anonymously, see what happens.

Not to get all political, but whatever your stance is on the legalization thing you do NOT want that in your neighborhood, because it is no more than 2-3 steps from gang violence. I would stay out of it completely though, other than alerting the police.

tuna55 wrote: This can't be any crime or serious stuff, right?

Sure it can. I wouldn't rule anything out. On the dealer level, weed is indeed a gateway drug.

Conquest351 wrote: That said, I agree with GPS, talk to him and see what's up.

That's why I called today, and found his phone had been disconnected. I'll wait for a good opportunity.

Arm yourself, drive around the block, pull into his driveway and honk?

mtn wrote: He's dealing something for sure. Alert the police anonymously, see what happens. Not to get all political, but whatever your stance is on the legalization thing you do NOT want that in your neighborhood, because it is no more than 2-3 steps from gang violence.

SWMBO has this issue. I do not lie. Ever. If Jimmy comes by and says "Did you call the police?" I cannot say no. She doesn't want him pissed off at us. I'll make her do it.

I agree, though. Anything black market immediately becomes super-critical dangerous.

Anonymous call to the police seems like the logical thing to do.

Unless you're the only house nearby, then it'd be pretty obvious who it was.

JohnInKansas wrote: Arm yourself, drive around the block, pull into his driveway and honk?

I totally just suggested this to SWMBO on the phone. She was not as amused.

Hey tuna,

Interesting that I clicked on your post without even looking at who wrote it.

I actually figured this was going to be a post about neighbors getting p***ed off about unregg'd project/ parts cars, that sort of typical thing that us GRM'ers go through all too often.

Sorry to hear about this. Neighbors suck. No doubt about it. Most of the time, most people can get along OK with their neighbors and co-exist, but let's face it, I bet 7 out of 10 people, if asked, would prefer to have a house that was secluded and private, with nobody else's house in view. Unfortunately, most people also prefer to live within 10 minutes drive of work/ church/ Wal-Mart so the physics kinda dictate the suburbia that is now most middle-class folks' lives. We trade privacy for convenience.

I heard or read somewhere (or possibly just made it up) that nothing good happens between 10PM and 4AM. Maybe I'm just getting old and crotchety at the ripe age of 35, but if I hear cars outside my house at those hours, I get suspicious. AT BEST, you're dealing with alcohol and some tomfoolery, at worst...

I would call the police. No doubt in my mind. I know the area you live in, and there's lots of neighbors there. Many of whom may be in the same place you're in- curious what's going on, possibly scared, with kids, etc. There's nothing "wussy" about it- people outside after dark, honking, cars coming and going- at the very least you could say your wife is scared and the cars are causing a disturbance, waking you/ wife/ kids up, etc. The police cannot tell the neighbor who reported him- that's the law, as far as I know.

At our old house, there's a subdivision across the street. About a year or two ago the police/ fire/ EMT show up one afternoon and lead people out in chains. A police line is run around the property. Dogs are out, spotlights blaze until all hours. I walked over and talked to one of the EMT's sitting in his vehicle, to find out what was going on. Meth House. Never would have guessed- quiet neighborhood, people who rented the house seemed OK, but had people coming at all hours, apparently, and someone got suspicious.

Best case scenario for you, the cops show up, neighbor's just been selling a bunch of stuff on CL to pay off his bills, nothing stolen, no drugs. Alternatively they find a meth lab, clean the house out, and you've potentially averted a dangerous, possibly lethal situation. Either way, your #1 priority if your wife and your children. Call the police next time it happens, and every time it happens until there's a resolution.

My parents have been dealing with this sort of activity and it's just ridiculous how hard it is to get them busted. My dad makes no bones about having contacted the police and even talks to the troublesome neighbor and tells him he's sick of it, quit doing it, I've called the police, etc. My mom hates it but there's no discouraging my dad from something once his mind is set on it. Despite all that they keep dealing and the cops know about it but can't just waltz in and arrest them. They're dealing prescription drugs and the prescriptions are legally in their name so without a direct undercover buy or witnessing the transaction they can't arrest them. The cops are really trying, and will hang around for a while, but the people in the house just wait until the cops are gone then go back to dealing. They can't station an officer 24/7 just for low level drug dealing, obviously.

The whole situation just sucks, so I know exactly how frustrating this is for you.

It sounds to me like a weed or prescription drug situation. It doesn't sound like a meth manufacturing thing.

tuna55 wrote: Not a meth house. The people and kid are too high-functional for this. He's not super well kept or anything, but he's not falling apart or acting weird or anything. That stuff can wreak havoc on kids, from what I gather, and she's fine.

Slow day at work, and this is an interesting thread, so I'm revisiting it.

I wouldn't be so quick to say it isn't a meth house because he and his family seem healthy. Just because one makes it doesn't mean that they do it, and just because it is manufactured in the house doesn't mean that it isn't done "right". It is entirely possible (though unlikely) for meth to be manufactured in a house and yet the house is still healthy to live in. Well, until the thing blows up anyways.

Hard to say what's going on there since it could really be any number of things. Maybe he told the local Jehovah's Witnesses to come back late at night and they are getting ticked haha.
I grew up in a rough 'hood and anytime we saw this stuff happening, it always ended up with shootings, drive-bys, and other activity you want NOWHERE near your house. Alert the authorities and ask them what you can do to help things along. LIkely you'll keep a log and/or photo's of the comings and goings. Typically though, if one pops up, unless it's squashed quickly, there will be more. Get out now before property values drop.

Without going into politics,

Too late. You've set it up already.

I'd rather live next to a guy selling weed (although this is your assessment) than a busy body neighbour. No harm, no foul. Mind your own business.

Zomby Woof wrote:

Without going into politics,

Too late. You've set it up already. I'd rather live next to a guy selling weed (although this is your assessment) than a busy body neighbour. No harm, no foul. Mind your own business.

This is all in good fun.

and that right there is why 90% of the time i think ZW is a berkeleying douchebag

Is it possible that this is a process server and the mailbox is unrelated? They have some funny tactics.

tuna55 wrote: This is all in good fun. and that right there is why 90% of the time i think ZW is a berkeleying douchebag

Fair enough, but you guys like to complain about your neighbours... and you're being one

N Sperlo wrote: Is it possible that this is a process server and the mailbox is unrelated? They have some funny tactics.

I doubt it, we're talking about multiple people and multiple vehicles over the course of a few months, maybe years. I just thought he had buddies visiting until my wife started to get worried. A neighbor concurred her worry (the one with a Bridgeport in her basement, so she's cool). Most of the time they make contact with him near the front door. if it was a summons, he gets sued a lot.

Zomby Woof wrote:

tuna55 wrote: This is all in good fun. and that right there is why 90% of the time i think ZW is a berkeleying douchebag

Fair enough, but you guys like to complain about your neighbours... and you're being one

Even though I agree with you for the most part I do believe there is a line. He's actively asked me to defend his property (I know I haven't mentioned this) in our conversations about weapons. We've been asked to watch his house while he was on vacation. It's not like I'm just peering out of my curtains and seeing a car in a color I don't like. I think the line has some gray between nosy neighbor and good Samaritan, although I would tend towards the other side of the line than you on this one. It's cool, and your opinion is appreciated.

I think this may be an issue of Canada vs. the US....if this were Canada, I might be more inclined to assume no harm no foul...but...as much as I am a live-and-let-live kinda guy, in the States this sort of thing often ends up badly. Sorry, but your right to swing your fist ends at my nose, and making me scared to live next to you is awfully close to my face.

The mailbox could have been an accident- car hit it as it was trying to drive away, not intentionally.

volvoclearinghouse wrote: I think this may be an issue of Canada vs. the US....if this were Canada, I might be more inclined to assume no harm no foul...but...as much as I am a live-and-let-live kinda guy, in the States this sort of thing often ends up badly. Sorry, but your right to swing your fist ends at my nose, and making me scared to live next to you is awfully close to my face. The mailbox could have been an accident- car hit it as it was trying to drive away, not intentionally.

I agree.

With regards to the mailbox, I witnessed the car last night drive away slowly and calmly, not hitting anything. A fifth generation Honda Accord Sedan with an automatic and the four cylinder if I'm not mistaken. No fart cans or anything. If someone hit it accidentally, it was his buddy (who picks him up in the mornings as he has no car now) or his wife, or, I guess, an extremely random swerve.

He's definitely selling SOMETHING. I'd call the cops. Sure, it could be he's selling homemade scented bath soap, but it sounds more like something sketchy. Beyond that point, does it really matter what it is? Whether it's meth, weed, moonshine, or stolen Tide laundry detergent, it's not likely to end well.

If you call the cops, fist thing they'll ask is "Have you witnessed any transactions?"

No.

Have a nice day!

Appeal to the guy's sense of neighborliness (that a word?). The honking has to go, talk to your friends and ask them not to do that.

When that fails get a boat horn in a can .......