Noel and I were eating supper in the living room watching TV. We heard a very loud noise, like a thud, directly over our heads. We figured that Mr. Young was throwing something at the house again. Noel commented that it must be him because the security light was now on. I picked up the camera and went out the kitchen door. There was the top of a pumpkin lying in our driveway. Mr. Young opened up his bedroom window and hurled rocks at me as I took the picture. I went inside ignoring him. A little while later as we were continuing to watch TV in our living room we heard more loud noises hitting our house. Noel commented it was 9:45 and he had thrown the pumpkin at 9:30. Again we ignored the rock throwing. Noel commented that for someone who doesn't like the security light he sure likes to trigger it. It had gone off and now it was back on. It is set to stay on for 10 minutes after being activated by motion. Around 11:30 one of our dogs needed to go out to relieve herself. I let her out front on a chain and she was quiet. No barking. When she came to the front door I unhooked the chain and Mr. Young opened his bedroom window yelling insults at me. He began throwing rocks out his window while he yelled. It triggered the security light. The light is set to activate if anything occurs from my side porch back to the garage where it is attached. Mr. Young usually either goes out his back door, close to the garage to do property damage to us or comes out on his side porch opposite our kitchen door. The light is also triggered if he is throwing things out his bedroom window at us and it hits within our kitchen door porch. After I let Annie (dog) in I went to the side porch to see if any damage was done to the side of the house. He continued to throw rocks out the window and hollering insults. Noel was at the side door too and heard this. I had the tape recorder in my pocket from the previous incident and it recorded the rock throwing and some of Mr. Young's verbal barrage. Around 12 PM I looked out the living room window and saw that the light fixture was moved to a weird position. Mr. Young had gone out on to our property and had moved the light which of course triggered it for the third time that evening. I mentioned it to Noel and said I was going to go out and photograph it. As I went outside and walked toward the light Mr. Young hollered out his window, "looks like I have you a little fire this time". I looked at the light and was horrified that it was the roofing under the light was smouldering. I ran into the house to get the fire extinguisher and hollered to Noel to turn the power off in the basement to try to stop it. I came back into the house after using the extinguisher and we called the fire department because we didn't know if it could still be smouldering under the shingles or if wires had melted. The fire department came shortly after. The firemen checked over the portion of the garage where it had been smouldering and removed the light. They said that the light had been bent down causing it to melt into the roofing causing it to smoulder. The fire chief said, it's better safe than sorry and it was the right thing to call them. Noel was very upset. I had moved the car out of the garage and while she waited for the firemen I had driven the Jimmy around the block to see if I could see if there was any smoke coming from the back of the garage (there wasn't). Noel said that right after I left, Mr. Young came out on his side porch, bent over toward her and said, "You think you can call the fire department you bitch, I'm going to kill you, I'm going to get you when you don't expect it, there won't be anyone around." Noel said she ignored him but when the firemen came he was out on the porch saying to them things like, "it's no big deal, they're just dramatic. They're wasting your time." As the firemen began to leave I noticed that the OPP was there in the street. Noel went into the house. Officer More walked up to me and said "What's the problem now." I said, "We had a small fire". He said "Well I guess you can't piss your neighbour off now with that security light." I was shocked and changed the subject. He then said something like "you two clowns are going…" but I stopped listening and walked away. Later Officer Moore asked me where the screws to the security light were. Officer Moore then conducted an investigation into me only. Was the wiring good? The firemen said yes. What the installation good, they said yes all new materials. I think he removed the light to his car, but I'm not sure. He then came back, asking again about the screws. The Fireman commented as he took down the light, because I used very long and screws and he only had a small screwdriver, turning a screw standing on a ladder is actually tuff on the wrist. I said sorry dude I used long screws. I was not thinking about screws. When I pulled my truck back into the garage (I had asked the fire to confirm the building was safe for the car) A fireman said careful the screws are on the driveway. I picked them up handed them to Noel and drove the truck in. Later I was telling Noel the Officer Moore seemed to really want the screws and I couldn't find them. She put her hand into her pocket and said these screws? I had forgotten I had handed them to her. Questioning by the police in our house. Officers Moore and his partner. Officer Dickson and his female OPP partner. I initially remember three officers in the dining room. I think Officer Dickson, his partner and Officer More. I remember Officer Dickson asking what happened and me telling him about what occurred at 9:30 and 9:45 PM and that Mr. Young threatened to kill me again and I believe he does intend to harm me. Also started to say what I remember from when I learned about the fire. I was upset. I think Andy was talking and Officer More was and I started to feel sick to my stomach and dizzy. I said excuse me I have to go inside for a minute. Officer More said something rather terse like 'what are you talking about you are inside". I said I have to go inside I don't feel right." The other officers repeated to him what I said and I went inside to lay down for a few minutes to calm down. When I came out within maybe 5 minutes Andy was mentioning that the tape recorder may have part of it. We had not listened to it yet. Officer Moore ask for it and started to play the tape. It was taking a while for the section to come up and the female officer or Officer Dickson was asking me something and I was answering. Officer Moore got annoyed and said he couldn't hear. We just stood there quiet. Officer Moore then got up and said I can't hear it and went outside. Andy and I pretty much recounted what is in the statement above to Officer Dickson, his partner and the other officer. Officer Dickson and his partner went outside and the other officer asked if we had any idea how all the problems with the neighbour began. I told him that about a year ago we knew Mr. Young was selling drugs to kids and Andy and he had had an argument about that. Things had been quiet for almost the year and we just ignored their presence. I told him that after the initial argument I had seen Mr. Young removing grow lights and things into a truck and that it seemed that he had stopped selling the drugs. But about two months ago Mr. Young had started to mouth off out his window and we ignored it. He then kept getting worse. Finally he started to damage our property. The Officer then went outside and we assumed they were talking to Mr. Young. When they came back Officer Moore sat at the dining room table, I sat down and Andy sat down. The other officers stood by the kitchen. Officer More said that Mr. Young had the same complaints that we did and that he would arrest both Andy and Mr. Young. He said he could not find anything on the audio tape. I asked what he would arrest Andy for and he said for criminal mischief for installing the security light and that it shines in Mr. Youngs window and invades his property. I pointed out that the security light was not the cause of the problem but the result of it. That Mr. Young had damaged our car costing over $3000 in damages, had threatened to kill Andy, has threatened to kill me numerous times and threatened to kill our dogs, he throws rocks at us and the house and continually comes on our property. He said that we would have to agree to be in mediation with Mr. Young, his wife, Andy and I. I was shocked and upset. I said why would I talk to a person who said he would harm me, and I believe he would and give him more information?? I said that was insane. This went on for a while and I said I'd have to think about it when I've calmed down. Andy said that we will put the house on the market and move because we can't protect ourselves from the ongoing threats and property damage done by Mr. Young. One of the officers said well maybe mediation will help while you are trying to sell your house and Mr. Young won't do more property damage. The officers left shortly after that. Officer Dickson and his partner said that if we found the section on the audio where Mr. Young was throwing the rocks at the house to let them know so they would have the information. They were there probably about an hour. After the Officers left Andy and I listened to the tape to see if we could find it. As we listened it sounded like there was not much on it but then realized that the audio tape had been turned over to the wrong side. We reinserted the tape with the side that was recording that evening while all this was going on. It was there just as we thought it should have been. Noel phoned Lorne Plater's officer to suggest a lawyer who does criminal law. Noel called Ted Bartlett's office to make an appointment to sell the house. An Officer from the OPP phoned in the evening asking if we intended to go to mediation with the Young's. It was Allison or Allyson who said she does the mediation. I told her that under the circumstances of death threats from Mr. Young I did not feel it was in my best interests and that I thought it would put my safety in more jeopardy. I suggested that Mr. Young and Andy attend mediation and I did not feel either wife needed to be present. She said that we all had to go and I said I am not comfortable with that, that I was still very upset about him setting fire to the garage and threatening to kill me in the way he did. I asked if I didn't go did they still intend to arrest Andy for criminal mischief for installing a security light to protect us from Mr. Young's ongoing property damage. She said Yes that the Officer had indicated that. I told her I would think about it further and would it be ok if I phoned her back next Thursday (I figured I could talk to the lawyer on Wednesday and get advice although I did not tell her we had made an appointment with an attorney). She said no that I had to make the decision by 6 pm the next night. I got upset and then said, do you realize that you are giving me a choice of disregarding me trying to protect myself from Mr. Young or else you will arrest my husband? She said obviously the mediation won't work so she will tell the officers no to mediation. I said I didn't say that, I said I'd think about it. The conversation ended shortly there after. I told Andy about the phone call and said I wanted to fax them and tell them that we had made an appointment with our attorney the day before and that we could not talk with Mr. Young until we meet with our lawyer on Wednesday. And also tell them that we had made an appointment with the realtor for Monday to put the house on the market. We sent the fax addressed to the mediator, Officer Dickson and Superintendent of OPP. It is attached.  November 5, 2005
Officer Dickson/ Officer Allison (Mediator) Superintendent OPP Bancroft Office OPP Bancroft Dear Officers: This is to confirm our conversation this evening at 11PM. I have not decided whether mediation on my part with Mr. Young is in my best interest due to safety reasons considering the ongoing death threats he has made to me numerous times. As I informed you, we also have medical issues that therefore made it difficult for us to make a snap decision regarding a major issue of this nature. I contacted my attorney on November 4th and made an appointment on behalf of Andy and myself for Wednesday afternoon for September 9, 2005. We cannot discuss any matters with Mr. Young without the permission of our attorney. On November 4th we also phoned and made an appointment with a realtor who is scheduled for Monday, November 7, 2005 to put our home up for sale. Andy has a prior commitment for Tuesday, November 8, 2005. In another matter, Officer Dickson and the female Officer who attended at our home on November 3rd asked us to turn over a recording that Officer More could not find. Upon listening to the tape after the officers left, the portion that they were interested in was in fact on the tape. I do not have another CD available to place the recording on like the previous information I put on CD for Officer Dickson. Please advise Officer Dickson that we have place the tape and other files up on a web page behind one of our websites and he need only to click on the link on that page and he can both hear the tape and/or save it to disk by right clicking on his mouse. The information page is not easily assessable to the general public. The OPP and our attorney are the only ones that will have the actual link. The information Officer Dickson requested will be at: (because of the size of the wav file it might take a little time to upload) http://www.bancroftrocks.com/oppupdate.html Sincerely,
Andy & Noel Efremov
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