Caldwell faces more charges
The criminal cases are piling up against a Cherry Lane man who has been sent before the grand jury for a third time amid an ongoing neighborhood feud.
The defendant, Brian Caldwell, 29, was bound to the grand jury Tuesday by Judge Larry Ross on the charge of stalking. The case was brought by neighbor Kenny Knight, who two weeks ago won a $27,000 civil judgment against Caldwell and his wife, Aaron Caldwell, for defamation of character.
In the stalking warrant, Knight used some of the claims he successfully used in suing his neighbors, saying they were putting libelous signs in their yard for passersby to see.
“He continually harasses my family, by putting signs about me in his lawn, by verbally talking to my chidden, by throwing gravel on my vehicle, by spinning his tires,” Knight wrote in the warrant, saying he has been contacting authorities about his neighbor for a year.
The warrant is the second taken against Caldwell by Knight. A case is presently awaiting trial in circuit court pertaining to Knight’s daughter being attacked by one of Caldwell’s dogs as she rode her bicycle in front of their house. Caldwell maintains the girl had teased his dogs from the other side of their electronic fence.
Caldwell also faces assault charges for allegedly taking a swing at city meter reader after the city employee struck at one of his dogs while reading his meter. The meter reader said the dog grabbed his pants leg. Caldwell denies swinging at the meter man.
The trio of criminal charges comes while two dogs, a boxer and pit bull, belonging to the Caldwells, are under death notices, ordered put down by the city court for being a menace. The Caldwells are appealing the death order in a case which will also be heard in circuit court. It was the dogs, allegedly, which spawned the neighborhood feud.