Crime & Safety

Woman Allegedly Brandishing Knife 'Welcomes' New Neighbor

The neighbor, who allegedly has a lengthy history of neighborhood complaints, reportedly was upset about tall grass and noisy dogs.

Having her daughter open the door at 8 o’clock Tuesday morning to a neighbor allegedly waving a knife and demanding the family cut their grass and quiet their dogs wasn’t the hospitable welcome to the West Des Moines neighborhood that a 44-year-old woman expected.

In fact, the woman who had just moved to the neighborhood two weeks ago with her family, told authorities she was “scared and shocked” and wasn’t sure what to do about her neighbor, a 54-year-old woman whom she described as “standing there with a knife in her hand waving it all around and yelling about … barking dogs and long grass,” according to a report on file at the West Des Moines Police Department.

The woman reportedly apologized for the noise and said she was preparing to leave for an out-of-town funeral and wasn’t aware that the dogs were barking. She also explained that she and her family had lived in the house, located in the 200 block of 23rd Street, for only a short time and hadn’t had time to mow the lawn.

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The neighbor reportedly wasn’t satisfied and refused to leave the property and continued to wave the knife around. By this time, both of the women’s children were frightened and crying and their mother was unsure about how to react because she thought the woman might have been drinking, Officer Nicole Stevens reported.

That was about the time the children’s father arrived in the driveway. The neighbor reportedly turned her attention on him, waving the knife at him and yelling about the dogs and the grass. He reportedly told her to get off the property and she threatened to come back with her husband.

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In her report, Stevens noted that police have been called to the home on “several occasions” to investigate similar complaints of harassment and domestic disturbances.

The victim asked police to talk to the neighbor and tell her to leave the family alone or face trespassing charges. She also told police that if the harassment doesn’t stop, she will seek a no-contact order because she’s worried the woman might harm her or her dogs.

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