Residents of Salem Lakes in Virginia Beach have had enough of their neighbor after dealing with his racist behavior over the past year, KRON 4 reports.
Jannique Martinez, a military veteran, said her neighbor would play banjo music at such a high volume that it would shake her home. After complaining to the police about the loud music, she said her neighbor responded by playing racial slurs and monkey noises.
“Whenever we would step out of our house, the monkey noises would start,” Martinez said. “And it’s so racist and it’s disgusting.”
Martinez recorded some of the audio on her cell phone and said the neighbor plays the noises and slurs even when her children are playing outside.
“My son is terrified of him. Terrified, terrified,” Martinez said about her child. “The N-word situation… They came to me and said, ‘Mom, what’s that?’ I didn’t subject my kids to that. I didn’t think they would ever have to learn what this means.”
In addition to Martinez, other families in the neighborhood have complained to the authorities about the abuse. Each neighbor has a “specific song” played for them as they enter their driveways. Also, neighbors are concerned about the home security cameras that neighbor on his property.
“We are constantly under surveillance,” Martinez explained. “There are a total of eight cameras that we know of.”
Police said they are "acutely aware of the ongoing situation," CNN reports.
"The observed conduct has been reviewed with the City Attorney for potential criminal sanctions; however, it was determined that the activity, though appalling, is not criminally actionable," the Virginia Beach Police Department said in a statement.
Expressing her frustration, Martinez said that the neighbor stays under the radar because he doesn’t “break the law” with his overt racism.
"He finds ways to stay under the law," she said. "He can't be wrong in the eyes of the law. He doesn't care about the morals."
