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Guy Considers Pressing Charges After Lady Accosts Him On Fishing Trip And Breaks $3K Rod

Man fishing on boat
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Maintaining a healthy relationship with one’s neighbors can be a delicate issue.

Particularly if these neighbors continue to cause a nuisance or even go so far as to trespass or damage your property.

Sometimes, these conflicts can be resolved with a simple conversation. Other times there might not be any solution other than to call the police.

Redditor SalaryEnough3672 found himself and some friends being accused by a neighbor of breaking the law.

Even after proving that he and his friends were well within their legal rights, this neighbor wouldn’t have it, eventually becoming physically aggressive toward them.

Having finally had enough, the original poster (OP) called the authorities, resulting in a somewhat ironic conclusion for his complaining neighbor.

Having doubts as to whether or not this was the right thing to do, the OP took to the subReddit “Am I The A**hole” (AITA), where he asked fellow Redditors:

“AITA for getting someone arrested and fined over my boat?”

The OP explained how his neighbor’s complaining ultimately resulted in her getting arrested.

“Two weeks ago I (27 M[ale]), along with two other friends, did our annual week-long trip to our mutual friend Alex’s cottage.”

“For years, one of our longest-running jokes was that I should bring my 46ft saltwater fishing boat to the lake.”

“This year, after looking up the lake’s policies, we decided to make it a reality.”

“To make this happen we all split the costs of both the permit and the marina fees.”

“The first four days of fishing/boating went very well; however, the same couldn’t be said for the fifth.”

“The issues started over some fishing we did in the same bay as Alex’s cottage.”

“After using my fish finder, we found a prime spot on the other side of it.”

“Roughly an hour into us being there, a woman (20-30s) we didn’t know kayaked across the bay to us.”

“When she got she asked to speak to the owner of the boat.”

“When I introduced myself to her, she started going off about how the boat isn’t allowed on the lake.”

“My response to her was to point at the lake permit in the windscreen before asking her to leave and not disturb us anymore.”

“This made her furious, and she started cussing and screaming at us.”

“For safety reasons, Alex started recording her in case she did anything stupid.”

“This only made things worse as she started trying to pull up our fishing and anchor lines.”

“In doing this, she wound up breaking my 3,000-dollar rod.”

“This was when her demeanor did a 180, and she began to plead with us not to call the police.”

“As collateral, she offered to not only replace it but pay for next year’s permit.”

“I rejected the offer and used my VHF to call for police assistance right in front of her.”

“The result of this was her getting fined for angler harassment and arrested for felony destruction of property.”

“Two days after all of this happened, Alex and his parents found themselves being visited by the woman’s mother.”

“From what he told me, she started going off on them and saying we are a**holes for getting her daughter arrested.”

“She believes we should have accepted her apologies and offers to replace it.”

“Looking back, I am conflicted as what I did could be considered vengeful as she did legitimately offer to make amends.”

“Am I the a-hole for getting her arrested?”

Fellow Redditors weighed in on where they believed the OP fell in this particular situation by declaring:

  • NTA – Not The A**hole
  • YTA – You’re The A**hole
  • NAH – No A**holes Here
  • ESH – Everyone Sucks Here

The Reddit community unanimously agreed that the OP was not the a**hole for calling the police.

Everyone agreed that the OP did exactly the right thing, believing they were the only appropriate consequences for the woman’s behavior.

NTA.”

“She destroyed your property.”

“If you’d accepted her offer, there’s no guarantee she’d have followed through.”- Quiet_Nerd_2148

“NTA.”

“I’d call the station and complain that they’re harassing the family. It’s a big no-no in most places.”-ILGardenmom

“You do not owe grace to someone initiating violent, destructive, and unpredictable behavior.”

“Who cares what their mother thinks? Perhaps she should have raised her daughter better (or ensured she would not harass others if she had an issue where she can’t control herself).”

“NTA.”- Brainjacker

“NTA.”

“Of all of the situations similar to this that I have been in, the times that I did not call the police came back to bite me in the butt.”

“It sucks that she got charges and fines.”

“Maybe next time she will think twice before being a terror.”- nowayshmose

“The way the daughter acted, and then how the parents acted towards you, would have only solidified my confidence that calling the police was the right action.”

“It’s clear that the daughter never faced consequences from the parents and therefore grew up entitled and not thinking she should have to deal with the consequences of her actions.”

“NTA.”- StonewallBrigade21

“NTA.”

“She should have thought of that before violating the law and breaking your gear.”

“She’s the one who ‘escalated’ it from a friendly float up to an incident that invited police actions.”

“Money may be trivial to these people, so allowing them to buy their way out is just letting them continue their bad behavior with no real ramifications.”- whorfin2022

“NTA.”

“There is no reason to believe a woman harassing you to pay you back what she broke.”

“Also her mom is witness intimidating, and I think you should call the cop on her too for giggles.”-Willing_Second1591

“NTA.”

“Without a police report, it’s highly unlikely she’d pay for the damage.”- Pepper-90210

“NTA.”

“She has clearly never gotten to the Find Out stage of F*cking Around. I’m glad you gave her a lesson.”- Kingalthor

“NTA.”

“The second someone starts destroying/vandalizing your property, the only correct response is to get police involved.”

“Taking care of it yourself is how people get themselves into legal gray areas.”- guntonom

“You were law-abiding, you looked up the regulations for having a boat your size on the lake, you had the permit posted, and you listened to her and then corrected her misinformed self.”

“She was old enough to know better, and yet she destroyed your property, and she could have caused even greater damage to your boat by fussing with your anchor.”

“She was attempting to intimidate you, and when she couldn’t, she became destructive.”

“What are the chances that this is the first time she destroyed someone else’s property when she didn’t get her way?”

“My guess: slim.”

“You’re NTA.”

“She’s an entitled, destructive, and unstable person.”

“I would have called the police, too.”- timetowakeuptoday

“NTA.”

“You should call the cops on the mom too, intimidation of a witness, lmao.”- perfumebathwater

“NTA.”

“She f*cketh around, and she findeth out.”- Ingwall-Koldun

“As a paddler, I fracking hate power boats.”

“The noise, the air and water pollution, the casual way they inflict wakes on everyone.”

“I’ll take a powerboat-free waterway any day of the week.”

“But it’s breathtakingly stupid to attack one by hand.”

“She’s lucky a fishing pole is all she managed to break.”

“There’s expensive. Then there’s boat expensive.”

“NTA.”- AuntieDawnsKitchen

“AHs usually want to backtrack and make amends once they step over the line, but that doesn’t stop them from being a-holes.”

“Nothing wrong with what you did.”

“Hope she learns her lesson.”

“NTA.”- ReviewOk929

“Oh, if it isn’t the consequences of her own actions.”

“NTA.”- MischievousShallot

“NTA.”

“If you play stupid games, you win stupid prizes.”- Maventee

“NTA.”

“You have nothing to force her to make amends once you leave, and she’s clearly a loon.”-MennionSaysSo

“NTA.”

“She is for harassing you guys and touching your sh*t.”

“She got what she deserved.”- Lil_Philosophy1595

“Obviously, NTA.”

“She was an interfering busybody who broke your expensive equipment. She should have kept her hands to herself.”- heatherlincoln

“NTA.”

“The woman was going to break your stuff.”

“Of course, she deserved to be thrown into prison.”- Apart_Repair_4945

“NTA.”

“Unless you fail to also report the mother for harassment.”

“Some folks need to learn some boundaries.”- changelingcd

“NTA for calling for police assistance when somebody is a potential danger to you and themselves.”

“Has she been charged for destruction of property?”

“If you tell the police you do not support prosecution provided she covers your costs, she may escape conviction.”

“Seek legal advice if possible.”- amlyo

“NTA.”

“This woman 100% brought it on herself.”

“Don’t do the crime if you can’t do the time.”- ZucchiniCalm9926

Perhaps this young woman was frustrated by the noise the OP and his friends were making.

However, that she could have possibly thought verbally attacking the OP and his friends, let alone breaking his expensive fishing rod, was going to end well is curious indeed.

The fact that she begged them not to call the police is only an acknowledgment that she knew she went too far.

Hopefully, she learned her lesson.

Written by John Curtis

A novelist, picture book writer and native New Yorker, John is a graduate of Syracuse University and the children's media graduate program at Centennial College. When not staring at his computer monitor, you'll most likely find John sipping tea watching British comedies, or in the kitchen, taking a stab at the technical challenge on the most recent episode of 'The Great British Baking Show'.