I'm currently living in Washington, and I've got threatened by my housemate, and I just pressed charges against him a
JA: What were you charged with exactly? Do you have any upcoming court dates?
Customer: I've sued my housemate for intimidation, and I have never heard anything from the police yet.
JA: Have you talked to a WA lawyer about this yet?
Customer: No.
JA: Anything else you want the Lawyer to know before I connect you?
Customer: No.
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Jessica
Consultant
Legal Eagle, Expert
Hello! Thanks for coming to the site. I am an attorney ready to answer your questions. I have a nearly 100% satisfaction rating, All that means is that you can count on me to help today. Please keep in mind that our conversation does not include an attorney-client relationship and this is for general information purposes only.
The trouble is that the prosecutor doesn't determine guilt; only a jury can do so.
The prosecutor has to determine whether charges should be brought. They will base this on the strength of the evidence presented to them by the police and their own investigation. If they believe there is a chance they will secure a conviction, they can file a criminal complaint with the local criminal courthouse. If your housemate pleads guilty, then no trial. If your housemate pleads not guilty, then the prosecutor has to prove, beyond a reasonable doubt, that your housemate committed a crime. They must prove this to a jury and your housemate has the right to have an attorney to help them with the case. The length of time it takes for the prosecutor to decide whether to bring charges varies. They just need to do it within the statute of limitations. Based on the kind of crime they are considering, the statute is usually 1-2 years from the date of the occurence.
I'm currently living in a guest house, with a couple of private rooms and a shared bathroom and a kitchen in Seattle, I've complained about my housemate snoring all night as I couldn't sleep at night quite a few times all this while(for 1-2 months), on top of that I've actually complained about him for not washing his hands when he gets home from his workplace every once in a while, because I've been so worrying about the unprecedented pandemic outbreak spreading all across the country. So the house owner asked him to move to another room, and he accepted the new option, and the house owner gave me a heads-up that he is going to move to another room soon enough or on May 1. He nevertheless didn't move by May 2, so I supposed that he forgot to do so, so I've left a note saying "The house owner told me that you're going to move to another room sometime soon, and it's already May, hopefully you're gonna do so today", and next morning, I got startled out of my sleep, because he was hollering at me, saying "Leave a note on my f**king door, and I'm gonna smack your head," and I started recording his voice, pretending to be sleeping, and once again, he yelled at me saying "Stop ordering me, if you don't wanna hear any noise than you move up" and used "n words" directly at me multiple times, and he actually said "If you ______, I'm gonna _____ you.(he was somewhat mumbling himself, so my phone didn't catch this one properly)". He spat out more insults before and after the record, and he left the house, and I've just found out that he left a very offensive note saying like "When ever i move, it my wish who The f**k your to give me orders? You don't pay my rent. if you got problem why don't you move out(this is what exactly he scribbled down with broken English, as he is from Nepal)." So I took a picture of it, and put it into a USB key with the voice records and 4 days later, I went to the police precinct nearby, and I got a meeting with two police officers and told them what exactly happened, how I'm currently feeling like(I'm feeling so anxious that I cannot focus on my duty, and cannot sleep at night), and turned in all the evidences I've collected against my housemate, telling them I would like to file a criminal complaint against him. The police officers came to where I'm currently living, and investigated the house and my rooms.
It's been 7 days, and I have never heard anything from the police. Do you think they will find my housemate guilty, and when do you suppose they would try to get in touch with me for some notification?
Legal Eagle, Expert
So the downside is that I don't think that a crime was committed here. I have reason to believe that the DA's office is going probably consider this to be a fight between roommates, but consider the facts to fall short of a terroristic threat against your life. It's not against the law for a party to say things like they're going to smack your head or make veiled threats against you. The kind of things the DA will prosecute would be if he called the house 50 times threatening your life, if he was stalking you by following you to your job or to the grocery store, etc. You may want to consider seeking a civil antiharassment order (https://www.courts.wa.gov/dv/?fa=dv_order.ordtypes#A2). There, a judge may order he stay away from you.
Using abusive language and intentionally creates a risk of assault;
Intentionally disrupting any lawful assembly or meeting of persons without lawful authority; Intentionally obstructing vehicular or pedestrian traffic without lawful authority;
or Fighting or making unreasonable noise within 500 feet of a funeral, wake, burial, or memorial service knowing that the activity adversely affects the funeral, wake, burial, or memorial service.andWhat Constitutes Disturbing the Peace? Laws exist that make it a crime to create a public disruption or commotion. These laws vary from state to state, but they typically prohibit:
Fighting or challenging someone to fight in a public place; Using offensive words in a public place likely to incite violence;
Shouting in a public place intending to incite violence or unlawful activity; Bullying a student on or near school grounds; Knocking loudly on hotel doors of sleeping guests with the purpose of annoying them;
Holding an unlawful public assembly;
Shouting profanities out of a car window in front of a person's home over an extended period of time;
Allowing excessive dog barking in a residential area;
and Intentionally playing loud music during the night that continues, even after a fair warning.As you know, guest houses are more like a public place, as in the case of hotels, and I've recorded the noise that he beat the wall and my door loudly. Plus, I'v seen quite a few cases that some folks got charged with using such racists words that would definitely offend others. Could you please tell me what the difference between this case and those cases, and whether there is any possible way that he gets charged? And are the police going to get in touch with me once again for some further statements? I'm so frustrated. :(
Legal Eagle, Expert
So the only thing that is 100% in the law is hat nothing is 100%.
Guest houses aren't considered a public space; they are private spaces. Public spaces are things like hotels, parks, museums, restaurants, or churches. The trouble here is that to make a case for disorderly conduct or disturbing the peace is difficult since it applies only to you, and not the general public. There is no way to guarantee he gets charged as the prospector in your county or city is the only one with the discretion. To improve your chances, you'd ahve to show that the actions by this person were so pervasive and severe that your life or property is at at reasonable and imminent risk of harm. With these facts, it's tough to say. My recommendation is to seek that anti-harassment order I suggested. If they break that, then they go to jail.
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