How would you handle this

[drssg]

Whats crazy is there are THICK woods between me and him but 2 rounds managed to penetrate thru them and one hit my jeep.

I had a similar neighbor that put a round through my house, and it traveled through about 300 yards of old growth woods. Since that time, I've found myself spending more time looking at that woods when the back-lighting is just right. I can see little specs of light making it through the woods. There are lots of them up high, and fewer of them the lower I go, but they are still there. Each spec of light represents a path of travel with *no* obstructions for a bullet. That is in addition to other paths I can't see, which are only blocked by small branches. So woods are not as much protection as I intuitively thought.

I was less concerned about the property damage and more concerned that a *bullet* came through my house! I attempted to have charges filed, and the prosecutor declined to move forward with it. In my case, there were multiple people shooting, and it wasn't clear who fired the shot that hit my house. On a somewhat positive note, the sheriff informed them that they are not permitted to shoot on their property, because they don't have an adequate backstop.

So FWIW, that's how I handled it. It's not a war, it's handling it according to law. It took a while for the prosecutor to make a decision, so I'm hoping that the entire situation was enough to change their behavior. Good luck.

 

[BKBrown]

I agree with this, to a point. If you (the person with the broken window) can afford it, I'd have the window fixed and get a bill. make up an agreement on paper and have him sign it with a time limit for payment. If he seems like he agrees and will sign - fine -- if not, then I would file the charges and present the offer to the court showing that you made an attempt to solve the issue out of court.

I would go the route of minimum escalation, if at all possible. Sure, it would be nice to try to punish him and teach him a lesson, but if he hasn't by this point in life, it's likely that it will take up more of your time than you would like and it won't make a difference to him either way.

If it were me, I would discuss with him the option of hiim paying for the replacement of the windshield and a gentelman's agreement that he won't target practice in your direction again. If that's good with him, after I got my money, I would live and let live. Unless there was further gunfire....then I would go the "pressing charges" route.

It could just be a simple, albeit potentially deadly, mistake by a moron. He likely has much less to lose than you do in the event of further confrontations. I always ask myself who has more to gain or lose in situation like this.

I'm glad that no one was harmed. Good luck with whatever course of action you choose to take. Take care.

 

[blueriver]

Either way it's got to be handled .. Next round may be to the head!! Have u considered talking to him about it?

 

[RedNeckGeek]

+1 for first trying to work it out with the renter. You have no way of knowing how long he'll live there, and the last thing you want is an ongoing war. If you can, set up a time and then go visit him where the shooting took place, and take a screen shot from Google Earth showing your two properties. Make a big deal of how easy it is for a stray bullet to get through the trees, and how lucky he is that it was "only" a windshield that got nailed. If he isn't falling all over himself to pay your damages by then, thank him for his time and go ahead and file charges. Get a copy of the police report while you're at it. Then forward a copy of the police report to the railroad company, since they should be warned that their trains are now navigating through a shooting range. If they pursue legal action against the renter it sets them up as the bad guy, not you. If that doesn't work, go down to where they keep the real estate records and find out who owns the property the guy is renting. Forward a copy of the police report to the owner, as he is liable for the actions of any tenant on his property. If you really want to get his attention, have your attorney send him a letter with the report. That may well result in an eviction, but be prepared for retribution from the disgruntled tenant.

 

[dodge man]

I have three bullets in the side of my garage, I can tell they were fired from a long way away as they didn't go through the side of it. That was several years ago and no new one since. I said the next one and the cops were getting called. I work with someone that had a bullet go through the side of his house and imbed itself in the drywall across the room. Another went through his machine shed. He did call the cops and they figured out who did it. There were two of them out late at night target shooting, probably some boozed involved if I were to guess. One of them was active military. Was very sorry about it and paid for damages and he admitted he knew better. It was probably the other guy that did it but he was at least a standup guy and took the blame. Still very dangerous.

I believe its one of the cardinal rules "know your target and its background".

I would probably go talk to the guy and get a feel for him. If he seems truly sorry and will pay, I'd let it slide at that and the fact he learned a lesson without anybody getting hurt.

 

[oosik]

If this renter is a standup guy, will accept responsibility and pay the damages - then I would let it end there. Last thing you need is an ongoing war with a neighbor.

 

[300UGUY]

File charges. He will be forced to pay up then. Chasing somebody thru small claims court is a pain. The chances of him paying is almost zero, without charges.

 

[CobyRupert]

If this renter is a standup guy, will accept responsibility and pay the damages - then I would let it end there. Last thing you need is an ongoing war with a neighbor.

:thumbsup:

 

[Kwendt]

I think you are right to make sure he covers damages, and if he doesn't THEN make his life a living ****. We all have done stupid sh..,er...stuff.

x2 Some folks simply don't grow up learning about considering actions beforehand. Could be an 'honest' stupid mistake. But like someone else said.... check with the owner of the property, it may be that the owner wouldn't like the added liability inherent with such actions taking place on his or her property. 2 cents...

 

[Kenneth in Texas]

UPDATE:
Found another bullet hole in my house, didnt penetrate (hardiboard siding) but nevertheless another stray bullet about head high

Called the cops to add that to the report. After much consideration since this happened I am firing off a certified letter requesting reimbursement for my vehicle window within 10 days. If he ignores it or refuses, then I will file reckless endangerment charge on him. I have talked this over with the deputy and at this time feel it is the course of action I will take.

After an in depth talk with the deputy that put the fear of God in him, the punk was scared, apologetic and told the officer they will stop shooting on their property (they are only on a 1/2 acre), so we will see if he does. Deputy told him that he has one warning and this was it and if he has to come out again on him its go to jail time.

Far as I can tell this was a stupid lack of common sense accident by a kid (25 years old), ignorant yes, stupid yes, could of killed or maimed me or the wife yes, needs a severe arse whipping definately yes. So I will see how this plays out, its morons like this that give the anti-gun people ambition about gun control.

Another good thing that the deputy mentioned and was mentioned on this board that there were bullets crossing a RR track which carries amtrak and freight trains which i understand to be a federal offense, so thats another route that I can go down.

The real problem is the rent house itself, they come and they go, some are quiet while others are not. The last character that was in it thought he was a rock and roll singer and played his guitar outside loud while he sang, good thing is he got busted with a bunch of meth in the house and is now doing time.

Really appreciate all of your opinions and thoughts on this matter.