Harassment 2709 (A) 1 in Pittsburgh, PA / Crappy neighbor

[taylorad]

I received this citation last night and am a little worried about it. Here are the facts:

My next door neighbor called 911 to file a bogus noise complaint, this is in retaliation for me continuously having to call the police on her and her three children (her children burglarized our house, the mother plays loud music up until 4am in the morning, and her children and their friends are extremely loud, disrespectful and have damaged our backdoor AND car-- all of which we have reported a total of 6x within the last month).

After I called the cops on her children & their friends for fighting on top of my car on 11/23, she left a note asking that I call her. I decided to go over and talk like adults, and we had a decent conversation. She wanted me to promise I wouldn't call the cops anymore, but I nicely told her that due to the escalation of the problems, I didn't feel comfortable with trying to handle this "under the radar." She wasn't happy, but we went our separate ways without any problems.

11/28 is when she called the cops, while we were watching tv (not loud) in our upstairs bedroom. The cops came and let us know that she had called in a noise complaint on us. Fine and dandy. After the cops left I knocked on her door to figure out why she called the cops, considering the fact that there was no loud noise. Before knocking on her door, I didn't know that she was inebriated. As we talked she became EXTREMELY aggressive and threatened to "beat my young *** across the street" several times (she is 39, I'm only 23). I told her that if she put her hands on me I had every right to defend myself as I saw fit. I ended the conversation right then and there and told her that if this continued I would report her to Section 8 Housing. She then told me she would report me, but I didn't understand what she meant. I am not on Section 8 (or any other government program), I work full-time as a Nursing Assistant and attend college full-time.

She proceeded to call the cops and tell them I threatened HER with bodily harm and the cop took her word for it and wrote me a citation, even though I told him she had threatened me first and that I had only told her I was willing to defend myself. I have no prior convictions or run-ins with the law (not even a traffic citation).

This woman has had 6 magistrate cases brought up against her in the last 6 years. 5 for failing to make her children go to school (Compulsory School Attendance) and 1 case for writing bad checks at Walmart. She was found guilty on all counts. She is the neighbor from hell and I am attempting to break my lease to move.

But, I guess what I am asking for is advice on what to/what not to do. I am pleading not guilty... but I've never been to court before. Do I stand a fighting chance to get this dismissed? I am terrified about this lie ruining my future obtaining my RN license or a clean background check. Help!

[mcsap]

As in any criminal case, the government has the obligation to PROVE that you are guilty BEYOND A REASONABLE DOUBT. The officer can't testifiy so it is her word against yours. You will not be able to bring up her past issues up EXCEPT for the fact that her credibility can be questioned because of her previous convictions.

Be prepared to be able to prove these convictions ( the bad check , not the truancy) which you can get off of aopc.org.

[greg72982]

In addition to what mcsap said, even if you are found guilty it's a summary offense. Though there will be some record of it, it will not show up on your criminal history. Pleading not guilty was the right decision.

[DeltaV]

If you're that concerned about it potentially effecting your background, I'd advise you to retain an attorney instead of trying to fight the charge yourself.

You call the police on her, she calls the police on you. This is relatively typical when you have issues with neighbors. You both will agree that on 11/28 she called the police on you, and then you went to her house to confront her. The judge will decide whose story is more credible (if she even shows up to court), however what's not in dispute is that YOU went over to HER apartment, and that's where the alleged incident occurred. The judge might not think much of that or the judge might think that means you went over there with the intent to cause a problem. Obviously that's what she's going to say.

Although her prior criminal history doesn't have any bearing on the facts of the case, the documented history that you two have with the police could. If you insist on defending yourself, go to the police station and attempt to obtain copies of the call history at your two addresses, especially the fighting and burglary. All of that can be shown to the judge as reasons why she wants to get you in trouble. A sure way to win is to be able to PROVE that she is lying. While you might not be able to prove she's lying when it comes to this allegation, if she lies about your prior problems as neighbors and you have proof to the contrary that will make her look less credible to the judge.

[taylorad]

Thank you all so much for the responses! I will be so relieved when this is all over and I can move.