MIAMI – A homeowner in Miami claims his next door neighbor is making his life a living hell, and he has the evidence to prove it.
He told Local 10 News’ Layron Livingston that the constant harassment has come to a head, and he is fed up.
“It makes me so nervous to have them walking around the perimeter,” said Alexander Tatum, referring to his five dogs who were sniffing around the backyard.
Tatum said he bought his Miami home in 2019.
He said it’s been hell ever since.
“On one incident, he was yelling death threats,” Tatum recalled. He said his neighbor, Jesus Hiedra, threatened to kill him and his dogs.
Tatum said the issues began not long after he moved in. He said after his neighbor raised concerns about his dogs, he tried having a conversation with him.
“We’re neighbors,” Tatum said. “If you have any problems, come talk to me. I’m right here. I said, whatever the situation, you can come talk to me, and he burst out.”
Tatum documented multiple incidents in the weeks and months that followed that encounter.
Miami Police records show multiple calls for service to Tatum’s address, though no arrests were made, and no citations were given.
“The police stopped responding to him in the manner that he wanted to, so he stopped calling police,” Tatum said.
Instead, Tatum said his neighbor started calling animal control.
“[He] and his wife are constantly driving by, taking videos of the dogs,” Tatum said. “As soon as he sees that I’m going to the garbage, he will wait for an opportunity to take those pictures and get me fined.”
Tatum, who trains and breeds dogs, said his pets have followed him to his garbage cans, outside of their fenced-in yard. Because the dogs were photographed “running at large”, beyond the fence, he has been subjected to fines.
Tatum said code enforcement even tried staging an intervention in the form of a mediation. He said his neighbor didn’t show.
Hiedra did show up on the cameras Tatum, eventually, had installed around his home.
In one recording, you see Hiedra spraying something over the fence into Tatum’s backyard.
Tatum is convinced whatever was sprayed, burned his dogs skin and fur.
Another recording shows Hiedra crossing his neck, so as to give the sign of death. He, later, raises two middle fingers to the sky, exposes his behind to the camera, and does a dance on his front porch.
One night, Hiedra and his wife are caught on camera, hurling racial and homophobic slurs at Tatum.
“I didn’t know where it was coming from, but I have this green laser that I’m constantly seeing in my house,” Tatum said. He was in his backyard with his dogs when he learned where that light was coming from: Hiedra’s window.
“You can see he’s trying to get it right in my eyes,” Tatum said. “It’s a lot, and it seems to be getting worse.”
Ben Stechschulte is an attorney who has argued neighbor disputes in court. He said a pattern of behavior that’s harassing, that serves no legitimate purpose, and causing substantial emotional distress could be grounds for a stalking case. Stechschulte said Tatum could use all of the documented incidents as evidence.
“It seems to me that, certainly, there’s a good faith case that a judge could potentially grant an injunction in this case,” Stechschulte said. “There’s no legitimate purpose for this individual’s behavior towards this person, other than some sort of personal animosity, or whatever it might be.”
“This is testing me on another level,” Tatum said.
Hiedra was, initially, happy to see the Local 10 “Leave it to Layron” team when they stopped by his home.
When they asked him for a response to his neighbor’s allegations, he said he was unaware of the situation.
Tatum is hoping to have a restraining order issued against his neighbor. A hearing is scheduled for April.
Hiedra has also filed suit against Tatum, claiming he is the one who is being harassed by his neighbor and his neighbor’s dogs. The suit also claims Tatum’s cameras have invaded Hiedra’s privacy. He’s seeking more than $20k in damages.