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Case #12253 Rating: 4.3 out of 5
Dogs being shot at with slingshot by neighbor
Greensboro, NC (US)Incident Date: Wednesday, Aug 1, 2007
County: Columbus
Charges: Summary
Disposition: Civil penalty imposed
Defendant/Suspect: Joseph Godbey
Rachel Berman spent countless hours and thousands of dollars fighting her next-door neighbor in a dispute that's been going on for more than two years. Berman said, "False complaints to animal control, false complaints to police, police coming out to my house in the middle of the night, knocking on my door, because of false complaints about my dogs barking when they're inside the house with me at night."
Berman has even videotaped her neighbor in hopes of proving he's harassing her and her dogs. In one shot you can see Joseph Godbey throw some kind of liquid in the yard where Berman's dogs are roaming. In another shot, you can see him fire his slingshot in the direction of her dogs.
Berman also has a lengthy paper trail documenting all the times Godbey has called the 911 center to file complaints about Ms. Berman. But 911 dispatchers say it's a two-way street. They say Berman has placed eight calls to complain about her neighbor too. She's even taken Godbey to court trying to get a restraining order.
Assistant District Attorney Samantha Stokes said, "There are both civil and criminal remedies for some in Ms. Berman's situation, and her case she has pursued both of those avenues, and in the majority of those cases, the civil court judge has found, using the law and the facts, that those cases should be dismissed"
Godbey did not want to go on camera but says this all started with Berman's dogs. He says his family lived here peacefully for 15 years before she moved in next door, and Godbey says he's the one being harassed.
Berman says she'd like nothing more than a peaceful resolution but is afraid this has gone well beyond an ordinary neighborhood dispute. Berman said, "These are red flags of a stalker. And he has told me this is not over, and I know that this is not over." While Rachel Berman has yet to have any success in court with this case, prosecutors still encourage people who feel threatened are encouraged to contact them for help.
Thanks to her video tapes Berman was successful at getting Animal Control to fine Mr. Godbey for harassing her dogs. References« NC State Animal Cruelty Map
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