“As close neighbors, try to put this behind you. Talk to each other. Criminal law does not provide the right solution in this case,” the judge said to two neighbors from Coevorden. They were on trial for a conflict over noise pollution that got out of hand.
Since his 42-year-old neighbor has an extension and has converted it into a pub, the management of the adjacent 43-year-old resident has become a burden. “The neighbor is deaf, the volume knob opens and everyone can enjoy his loud hardcore music without being asked. My son bounces out of bed because of the bass.”
Last year on March 26, things went terribly wrong. The oldest suspect wanted to complain and rang the doorbell, tried to make contact by telephone and texted. But getting in touch was not possible.
“And then I suddenly see him hanging over the fence and hitting our window with a beam,” the younger neighbor responds. He had not heard the bell because of the music and in turn threw a chair at the fence.
The eldest said he was hit in the process. The chair was followed by a claw hammer that landed near him. The measure was then full.
With a hammer, he in turn went to the front of his neighbor’s house and smashed the window of the front door. He didn’t know his neighbor’s girlfriend was in the hallway. She suffered a cut on her nose from the shards of glass.
Both men were charged with assault, attempted aggravated assault and vandalism. “After that day, the terror only worsened,” said the older of the two.
The judge regrets the conflict that has gotten out of hand. In the beginning, both men got along quite well. An attempt to talk to each other through a mediator has failed.
The oldest suspect says he is still open to this, the youngest slams the door. “I urge you to make another attempt,” the judge said.
Destroying the window can be proven, the judge finds. Not the attempted assault on the girlfriend who was standing behind the door. “I can’t determine that you knew she was standing there.”
Throwing a chair is not assault, as was alleged. No injuries were observed. Throwing a claw hammer is at most a threat, the judge believes.
The eldest was sentenced to 20 hours of community service, the other must work 10 hours as punishment.