Now, you can’t expect perfection out of people by any means, but when you hear someone goes to church, you would expect higher standards from a ‘God-fearing’ individual. However, one particular churchgoing woman in Wisconsin must have thought God would pardon her sins or something, as she repeatedly stole things from her neighbor’s yard. Over the course of five months, the woman stole hanging flowers, a sprinkler, exterior decorations, a hose, and even cushions from the neighbor’s porch chairs.
Everything was caught on the neighbor’s security camera of the woman taking something from the neighbor’s yard, then strutting back to her home across the street. Of course, the victim of this daylight thievery said they showed the surveillance footage to the authorities as evidence, but the “Police aren’t doing anything about it.” They even confronted the neighbor bandit three times, but every time, she denies having ever done such a thing, then retreats back into her house. “I’m sick of it, so I’m wondering if publicly shaming her is a valid option,” the neighbor groaned in their post on r/legaladvice.
Since the cops aren’t taking responsibility, and the woman pretends to be innocent, the neighbor claims they’re considering placing printed photos around the neighborhood and even the woman’s church to shame and vilify her for her wrongdoings. However, the top comment suggests that there might be a better way to approach this woman regarding her crimes. The Reddit user points out that they should “Consider approaching this as trespassing and harassment.”
They continue, saying that a formal warning should be first sent to the woman, barring her from trespassing on the property, along with a detailed list of evidence and video proof of her thefts. If she doesn’t listen, then the neighbor can file for a harassment protection order, followed by possible legal charges, since that would get the authorities to act. “You might also want to consider putting out some expensive bait for her if you want to get this turned into grand theft,” the comment shrewdly concluded.
Hundreds of Reddit users upvoted the comment in agreement, with one reply saying that the whole ‘bait idea’ is genius. “It’s all fun and games until it means actual consequences,” the user remarked. Another added that “once you get to a certain $ threshold, it upgrades to a felony and then the police care a lot.” Not to mention, as one person points out, if this woman is so casually stealing from her neighbor across the street, there’s no telling how much she’s stealing from other houses. Hopefully, this churchgoing hypocrite will be brought to justice and shamed for her actions.