VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. (WAVY) — Several residents in a Salem Lakes cul-de -sac are fed up with their neighbor after they say he’s taunted them from behind his front door for more than a year.
In the past, Jannique Martinez said banjo music would play loudly over her neighbor’s speakers, shaking her home. After alerting the police about the music, Martinez said her neighbor has retaliated by playing racial slurs and monkey noises.
“Whenever we would step out of our house, the monkey noises would start,” explained Martinez. “And it’s so racist and it’s disgusting.”
Martinez recorded some of the audio on her cellphone. She says the noises and slurs continue even when her school-age children are playing outside.
“My son is terrified of him. Terrified, terrified,” Martinez said about her child. “The N-word situation … they came to me and said, ‘Mom, what’s that?’ I didn’t subject my kids to that. I didn’t think they would ever have to learn what this means.”
Her family isn’t the only one feeling harassed by the neighbor’s antics. Other families in the cul-de-sac have songs played while they’re outside as well.
“The minute I open my front door, those lights blink, or my music, or ‘my song’ comes on. Soon as they get to their driveway, it blinks; they have a specific song too,” Martinez said, pointing to another neighboring home.
In addition to the sounds, neighbors are concerned about the eight home-security cameras on his property.
“We are constantly under surveillance. There are a total of eight cameras that we know of,” Martinez explained.
A Virginia Beach police spokeswoman told NewsNation affiliate WAVY they’ve responded to a total of nine complaints about the neighbor’s antics. Seven of those calls were for nuisance complaints and another three were in reference to a parking/traffic complaint. So far, there have not been any criminal charges pressed against the neighbor in question.
Police told WAVY the complaint would have to match specific criteria before the possibility of criminal charges would be on the table.
Still, Martinez feels like nothing has been done to make her or her neighbors feel safe at their homes.
“I actually felt like … helpless a little bit. Because I’ve gone to the magistrate, I’ve gone to civil court, I’ve talked to a lawyer. I’ve done everything in my possession to do it the right way.”
Neighbors were told there’s a fine line of when police can actually step in — and having a racial slur played over a recording may not meet that line.
“According to the law, it’s just a statement or a phrase, or he’s not doing enough or bodily harm or threats to my family,” said Martinez. “Why does it have to go that far before something that can be done? People shouldn’t have to live like this. I spent 11 years in the military. My husband is also in the military. We fought for this country, but yet there’s no one to fight for us.”