Georgetown neighborhood begs for help to end daily harassment from neighbor

GEORGETOWN, Texas - A Georgetown neighborhood says it’s dealing with a "nightmare" neighbor and is asking for help ending it.

Neighborhood describes their experience

Local perspective:

A few years ago, Shelly and Jeff Wynn moved into their dream home. It was quiet and peaceful until one day, that dream shattered.

"This isn’t some neighborly dispute that’s just a tit-for-tat, this is just something that God forbid could be aired on dateline 2020," said Jeff Wynn.

There’s only one word they use to describe it.

"It’s a nightmare," said Shelly Wynn. "Complete nightmare."

The Wynns have documented months of what they call daily harassment from a neighbor.

"My kids literally wake up in the middle of the night to him yelling, and they are like ‘Mom he’s cussing, he’s saying my name,’" said Shelly Wynn.

When Shelly asked to go on-camera with FOX 7 Austin, nine other neighbors showed up wanting to tell their stories, too.

"I can't even go take my trash and bring it in without being called names, without having to call my husband out because I don't feel safe. I didn't even try to engage him at the time," said Samantha Williams, a neighbor.

"We need to bring to light what’s going on with this because the right things aren’t being done," said Chancelor Wheelbarder, another neighbor.

According to a misdemeanor complaint, law enforcement also has a long record of this neighbor. It listed nearly three pages' worth of reported gestures, comments, and concerns about criminal trespassing.

When FOX 7 Austin walked up to the Wynn’s front door for the interview, the neighbor came out and yelled.

"There’s vulgarity right away," said Jeff Wynn as the neighbor yelled.

"There've been multiple cases of harassment with the sheriff’s office and the constable's office, which they’ve done an amazing job, but the county attorney, as of now, has only taken one, charged him with one," said Shelly Wynn.

According to court records, her neighbor received jail time for a 2022 harassment conviction while another case was dismissed in 2023.

But most of the time, Shelly said the issues don't see the inside of the courtroom.

"They said it didn’t meet the requirements for harassment because it was on his property, and they don’t consider certain things of threat," said Shelly.

"I have nightmares, my kids have nightmares," said Shelly Wynn. "No one should live like this. I should feel like I live in a county that actually cares about their citizens."

"Is it one case, right?" said Wheelbarder. "Is it one law? Or do we need to look at this from the perspective that something worse is going to happen?"

Can harassment cases be prosecuted?

Big picture view:

County attorney Dee Hobbs sent the following statement to FOX 7 Austin regarding the neighborhood’s concerns:

"Generally speaking, the ability of county government to protect its residents is limited by the law, as written and previously interpreted by the courts. Before restricting or taking away an individual’s liberties, it is imperative the complained of behavior meets the statutory requirements of the offense alleged, and does not illegally or unjustifiably impinge upon an individual’s rights. There are many situations where actions do not rise to the level of a criminal offense as the law is written, but in such cases, there are usually civil remedies available to allow complainants to seek redress. 

Bound by ethical obligations, I am unable to discuss the details of any matters pending or the individuals involved in those matters."

"It’s a really hot topic, and you're always fighting that balance between the courts and the First Amendment and what the legislature wants to do," said Jeremy Rosenthal, a criminal defense attorney in North Texas.

He explained harassment cases, like concerns brought up by the Wynns, can be challenging to prosecute.

"Profanity and vulgarity, literally it’s speech, but if that intent is a true threat, then it crosses that line, and it’s a real tricky one that constantly goes back and forth and is really difficult to deal with in the court," said Rosenthal.

The difficulty of getting a harassment case to stick in court is something this neighborhood knows well, and all they’re asking for now is help waking up from this nightmare, once and for all. 

FOX 7 Austin asked if the county attorney could speak on harassment laws when it comes to neighborhoods and private property in general. Below is the response we received.

Why can the county not prosecute a harassment case if someone is being accused of harassment on their own property? 

"The State of Texas and the United States are staunch defenders of an individual’s right to liberty, free speech, and property rights. As a result, harassment as a criminal offense has been narrowly tailored by the legislature and further by court interpretation to ensure enforcement and prosecution for harassment does not infringe on an individual’s rights. In many cases, what is perceived by someone to be harassing conduct does not otherwise meet the statutory elements for harassment as defined in the Texas Penal Code. I have included a copy of §42.07 of the Texas Penal Code and titled Harassment. Many people read section (a) "with intent to harass, annoy, alarm, abuse, torment, or embarrass another" and believe that is all that is necessary for a criminal charge of harassment; however, to prove criminal harassment, the State must also establish beyond a reasonable doubt the offender harassed someone in an manner listed in (1)-(9). Those nine listed ways in which a person can harass, annoy, alarm, abuse, torment, or embarrass another are the only ways the State can charge an individual with the criminal offense of harassment. Any other manner in which an individual’s conduct "harasses" another person is not a crime under Texas law. In looking at those nine subsections: four through nine involve a telephone, electronic communications, social media, or illegally tracking another person. None of those sections apply to a neighbor situation, leaving only subsections one through three. In most instances (but not all) involving neighbors, either the statements do not rise to the level of statutorily defined obscene ("containing a patently offensive description or solicitation to commit an ultimate sex act, including sexual intercourse, masturbation, cunnilingus, fellatio, or anilingus, or a description of an excretory function"), nor to the level of a threat "in a manner reasonably likely to alarm the person receiving the threat, to inflict bodily injury on the person or to commit a felony against the person," nor a false statement/report that another person has suffered death or serious bodily injury. In addition to the statutory limitations and restrictive interpretations of the harassment statute that prohibit prosecuting neighbors with criminal charges, these disputes frequently involve dueling neighbors engaging one another in the dispute. When this happens, the State is unable to legally say who is the harasser and who is the victim because both are engaged in the back and forth." 

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