Fear Thy Neighbor S10E05 Road to Ruin
Friendly neighbors on a peaceful street have their lives disrupted when a developer moves in and builds houses nearby; tempers flare over the access road he uses for heavy equipment, which fuels escalating threats and confrontations.
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00:00Hey, welcome to the neighborhood.
00:07Yes, I'm the new guy on the block.
00:08In a small town, a new neighbor can be a big deal.
00:12That's where I'm building.
00:13Building.
00:14Initially, they were interested in like, this is going to raise my property values.
00:17But when business booms too loudly, large tractors and trucks and heavy equipment going
00:23right past his home.
00:24I can't have this every day, not across my land.
00:26This is not your road.
00:27More than just contracts will be terminated.
00:31Come on!
00:32I've had enough of it.
00:33You think I'm going to let a bunch of rednecks stand in my way?
00:34He was like a madman.
00:35Over my dead body.
00:36I would beat that man to death.
00:38He's been harassing us.
00:39This isn't over.
00:40All of a sudden, he whips out this gun.
00:42You're so tired of this, you little bitch!
00:44Where are you?
00:45Sometimes you just piss off the wrong people.
00:47Somebody's going to get hurt.
00:48Damn you.
00:49I know what you did.
00:51Get out of my neighborhood!
00:52Stay away from my wife!
00:53You're on the ground now!
00:54Oh!
00:55Oh!
00:56Oh!
00:57Oh!
00:58Oh!
00:59Oh!
01:00Oh!
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01:12Oh!
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01:14Oh!
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01:17Oh!
01:18Oh!
01:20Loomis is just a teeny, tiny rural area.
01:23There's roughly like less than 7,000 people there to this day.
01:28It's a really small community.
01:30Everybody knew everybody.
01:32It's a great place to live, great place to grow up.
01:35It's a very nice town.
01:36Nothing ever really happens in Loomis.
01:42Mary Ann Stein and Gary Bordas have been living on this quiet, dead-end street for some time now.
01:49I think that's about it.
01:50It's about time we got this garden done.
01:53They've been here quite a few years, and so everyone got along with them really fine.
01:59None of our neighbors had any problems with each other at all.
02:03Mary Ann and Gary are school bus drivers who believe that if you work hard, good things will come your way.
02:10Something happens, they always try to help get you in and everything like that.
02:13You're going to try to help out.
02:15Good day for yard work, isn't it?
02:17Joe Carr and his son Donnie are also long-settled fixtures of the block.
02:21Is any day a good day for yard work?
02:23Good point.
02:26Need a hand, Keith?
02:27No, I've done this before, but thanks.
02:30Most of the people have been around here for years, and so they pretty well know each other.
02:42And now, this friendly hub is getting a new resident.
02:48Lawrence Vakarage has purchased the large property at the end of the street.
02:54Lawrence is a contractor who has built and developed homes all over Northern California.
03:00He's a developer from the Bay Area that's buying land in a small community.
03:04Hey, welcome to the neighborhood.
03:06I'm Mary Ann.
03:07This is Gary, and we live right there.
03:10Joe, you live just across the way.
03:12Every time someone new comes into the neighborhood, we try to get acquainted with them, see if we can get along and everything.
03:17Lawrence, but my friends call me Cutter.
03:19Well, I guess we'll call you Cutter.
03:22Guess I'm the new guy on the block.
03:24When I first met him, he had a real friendly side to him.
03:27But first impressions can be deceiving.
03:30I've had enough of you, you stupid bitch!
03:32Come on!
03:43Lawrence is excited to set up his new home.
03:47Yet he has much bigger plans for his sprawling property, which runs behind the other houses on the street.
03:55And it's a beautiful property, covered with trees.
03:58It's a beautiful property.
04:01Hi, Cutter.
04:02How are you settling in?
04:04No rest for the wicked.
04:06What's this?
04:08The future.
04:09Let me show you.
04:12This is your house.
04:14And this little gravel road cuts across to your yard.
04:17Boone Lane, yeah.
04:18Oh yeah, that's us.
04:20This is my place.
04:26All this space here is where I'm building.
04:31Building?
04:32Five houses.
04:33Permit should go through in no time.
04:35And it's what he was wanting to do.
04:37He was wanting to build five houses on about an acre and three quarters.
04:41A subdivision, basically.
04:43Right in the middle of us.
04:44Five houses.
04:46That's a lot, isn't it?
04:48In these small towns, you know, we don't want all these apartments or big subdivisions or anything like that.
04:54They like their country atmosphere.
04:56They like, you know, living on that back road.
05:00These houses will be beautiful.
05:04Trust me.
05:05I only build the best for the best.
05:08Really?
05:09Plus, it should help our property values if we upscale the area a little bit.
05:13True.
05:15Initially, Gary was interested and like, well, maybe this is going to raise my property values.
05:19Maybe this can be a good thing.
05:21I'm going to give it a chance and see what happens.
05:24Every neighborhood I've been in has been better when I left it.
05:28I guess he was hoping that that would be appealing to the neighbors.
05:31The increase in property value may be attractive.
05:35But the reality of construction proves to be something quite different.
05:44What was that?
05:46I don't know.
05:47Okay.
06:01That's going to create dust.
06:02It's going to create a tremendous amount of noise.
06:04I mean, there'd be hammering and all kinds of noise at all hours.
06:10But the noise isn't the only problem.
06:17He was bringing in semis and stuff up the private road where the lane where Gary lived.
06:23Ten foot of Gary's property was part of that private road.
06:26There's these large tractors and trucks and heavy equipment going right past his home on the little gravel road.
06:33Hey, Lawrence!
06:35Hold on a second.
06:36Lawrence!
06:38Call me Cutter.
06:39You're up early.
06:41You think?
06:42What is all this?
06:44Told you we'd be starting work soon.
06:46You didn't say anything about cutting across my property.
06:48No.
06:49This is not your road.
06:50Okay?
06:51This is public access.
06:52No.
06:53I can't have this every day.
06:54Not across my land.
06:55Just having all the construction people there and just the dust and the dirt and the noise.
07:01I'm sorry, but it's the only way in.
07:07Remember what we talked about?
07:08This will all be worth it.
07:10We didn't talk about this.
07:12It'll be over before you know it.
07:15So.
07:19What'd he say?
07:20What'd he say?
07:22He said we're just gonna have to put up with it.
07:24For how long?
07:29They didn't want the development.
07:30It was like you put a subdivision in the middle of a racetrack.
07:34So I think that's where Gary kind of changed his mind and said, I don't think this is a good idea.
07:39And Mary Ann didn't think it was a good idea from the beginning.
07:45This is asinine.
07:46It's unbelievable.
07:47No, no, no.
07:48There's no math that supports what you're saying right now.
07:50It does not take time.
07:51What you're describing is not taking time.
07:53It's taking money.
07:54Money that we don't have.
07:57It's all much more than Gary and Mary Ann bargained for.
08:00We are a month behind schedule.
08:02Do I have to find someone else who could do this job?
08:08He definitely had some issues.
08:09He just didn't seem like he was very kind.
08:14What a bunch of idiots.
08:19How are you guys doing?
08:33Gary and Mary Ann worked hard to save up enough money for their home.
08:38It's not a palatial mansion.
08:40It's a modest home.
08:42Literally, their way of life would have been disrupted.
08:46You know, the construction is one thing, but...
08:50The construction is one thing, but the truck's running through our yard every five minutes.
08:54It's driving me crazy.
09:00Cutter didn't have no right to use part of that private road.
09:02But he kept using it anyway.
09:04Like, I can do what I want to do.
09:06You know, tough.
09:07And that's what his big problem was.
09:09That's basically what created the whole problem.
09:11Was access to the property.
09:13He's got all this room on his property.
09:15Why doesn't he take the trucks through that way and stop cutting through our yard?
09:19Why are you asking me?
09:21Ask him.
09:24Gary hopes his idea will ease the disruption, which will then ease the tension between the neighbors.
09:35Hey, I, uh, bought you a cup of coffee.
09:37Ooh, that's a ticket. Thanks.
09:41Hey, uh, listen, can we talk?
09:45What's on your mind?
09:47So, um...
09:50We're gonna need you to take your trucks through a different route to the construction site.
09:55Excuse me?
09:57Yeah, I mean, can't you build a track through your property so you don't have to cut across mine?
10:02Do you have any idea how much that would cost me?
10:05No, but...
10:06Listen, it's not gonna happen, okay?
10:09This is a public road, because I have access to it.
10:11It doesn't matter that it cuts across your yard.
10:13I think this shows a bit of arrogance on Cutter's Park.
10:17That I'm gonna do what I want, regardless of how you feel.
10:21Don't you care about all the inconvenience and noise this is causing us?
10:25Frankly, no. This is how houses get built.
10:28It didn't matter to Cutter. Gary and Marianne were small potatoes.
10:32You know, I didn't think I was gonna have an issue with you two, but if you want a problem, I'll give you one.
10:35Seriously.
10:36I eat people like you for breakfast.
10:38Thanks for the coffee.
10:40Who the hell do you think you are?
10:42You don't want to find out.
10:44I guess we just don't know.
10:46Until we're in a situation like that, what would you do?
10:48He's been harassing us!
10:50What are you gonna do? Hit me?
11:04Cutter figured he could use Boone Lane.
11:06He told everybody to come down Boone Lane where you put your trucks and cats and stuff.
11:09That's where the main problem started.
11:13This once idyllic small town neighborhood has been turned on its head.
11:19Gary Bordas and Marianne Stein bear the brunt of the disruption.
11:23He just thought he could just roll over everybody.
11:37I think that, uh, that would have definitely been a major issue with her.
11:40Having any kind of construction going on.
11:42She wouldn't have liked it.
11:44Now he's just doing it on purpose.
11:46I don't know.
11:48I don't know.
11:50I don't know.
11:52I don't know.
11:54I don't know.
11:56I don't know.
11:58I don't know.
12:00I don't know.
12:02I don't know.
12:04He's just doing it on purpose.
12:07My head is killing me.
12:11To have that way of life and all of that just set aside, you know, like it didn't matter to Cutter.
12:18Marianne and Gary feel powerless to stop their neighbors domineering ways.
12:25Well, from what I recall, Marianne would tell me that this Lawrence definitely is escalating.
12:30He's just off the chart, you know.
12:32He just wanted what he wanted.
12:34You know, I can't take much more of this.
12:37How would he feel if we did it to him?
12:42Maybe we should find out.
12:45They decide to give Lawrence a taste of his own medicine.
12:53If their neighbor is going to drive across their property with impunity,
12:58then Gary is going to do the same.
13:00Sort of, you could say it might be in retaliation for Cutter and his crew using, you know, Boone Lane.
13:10What are you doing?
13:12How do you like it?
13:14Trying to make a point?
13:16You trying to take me on?
13:18You're not so tough.
13:20That's what the squabble ended up in.
13:22Right out in the middle of the property one day.
13:24They were kind of nose to nose.
13:26What are you going to do? Hit me?
13:28I'll loan your house.
13:30You know, if he's threatening to do something, maybe he will follow through on it one day.
13:35You know, and he was full of plenty of threats.
13:39Gary's attempt to prove a point has only made things worse.
13:42You don't have it in you, Gary.
13:46You have to bring a lot more than that little car to get rid of me.
13:51Lawrence isn't going to let anyone get between him and what he wants.
13:55I'm of the opinion he would fight. He would do anything he needed to, to get his way.
14:00Gary and Marianne won't stand by and watch their peaceful life be destroyed.
14:05Even with the squabbles he had with Cutter all the time, everything was supposed to be nice and calm.
14:13The couple turns to the authorities for help.
14:16Boone Lane is a public access road. I have every right to use it.
14:22Except this idiot, he has no right to drive around my land just to tick me off.
14:26He's driving us nuts.
14:28He's been harassing us.
14:29You made your points. Now you need to learn how to get along.
14:32The police were out there, and you know, they pretty much calmed everybody down, let everybody go, and they proceeded their own way.
14:42They said, everybody go your separate ways, take a breath, and calm down.
14:52If law enforcement can't help restore tranquility, Gary decides to take matters into his own hands.
15:00He's trying to show Marianne that, you know, he's all badass.
15:05Gary decided at some point that he needed to impede the construction traffic.
15:11What the hell is going on?
15:12Take a look for yourself.
15:15There are poles that went into the ground, you know, the fence poles.
15:20They just kind of like slid in the ground, you know.
15:24The police were out there, and you know, they pretty much calmed everybody down.
15:28They said, everybody go your separate ways, take a breath, and calm down.
15:32If law enforcement can't help restore tranquility, Gary decided to take matters into his own hands.
15:38They just kind of like slid in the ground, you know.
15:41Gary takes a fence post, pounds it into the ground.
15:45There is still room for passage of a vehicle, like a car, but the heavy equipment would not be able to fit through that space.
15:52Oh, hell no.
15:55The crew doesn't want to destroy Gary's fence posts, as they may have been legally erected.
16:03But Lawrence has no such reservations.
16:07Cutter decides he's had enough of this nonsense from Gary, and he's going to remove the fence post.
16:16And the guy was so out of control, he was like a madman.
16:22Gary and Marianne have no idea who they are dealing with.
16:26Broke the hammer.
16:27It was a nightmare.
16:30Clean this mess up and get back to work.
16:32He did a pretty good job of acting like he was a really, you know, normal kind of a person, but he wasn't.
16:39He just, he was not.
16:41I'll take this.
16:43Go get Gary, you dumb hick.
16:45Don't talk to me like that.
16:46You're costing me money.
16:48Get off my property.
16:50I'm sure he didn't like her standing up to him at all, but apparently she had no problem doing it.
16:55You're just a piece of white trash. No one would miss you if...
16:58If what?
16:59He was really very furious. He was not a happy camper at all.
17:03Nobody messes with me! Nobody!
17:06She doesn't deserve to have anybody disrespect her with the way that this Lawrence person treated her.
17:12It was very frightening.
17:13Because you never know what this guy's going to do.
17:17Once again, Marianne turns to the authorities for help.
17:25This is another incident where the police were notified and came out to the property.
17:28And he started shouting profanities at me, asking for Gary, and then he threatened my life.
17:34Again, there were no witnesses, so not much can be done about it.
17:40Lawrence denies all accusations, claiming Marianne made the whole thing up.
17:45You know, I just... I don't know what these guys have against me. It's...
17:50But when the cops showed up, everyone was picking on him.
17:53You know, all I'm trying to do is develop my property and they're picking on me.
17:57They're creating problems for me. For me.
18:03He pushed and pushed. You know, he pushed every day.
18:09You know, and apparently, he found where the breaking point was.
18:13Somebody's going to get hurt.
18:15This isn't over. Screw you!
18:28It just kept escalating back and forth, back and forth.
18:32An all-out war is brewing on Boone Lane.
18:37And the construction has no end in sight.
18:41You get something like a cutter coming in.
18:45I mean, throwing a monkey wrench in the middle of everything.
18:49Lawrence Ficarra presses ahead with his housing development, unbothered by his neighbor's ire.
18:55While Gary Bordas and Marianne Stein are reaching their breaking point.
19:00I think that Marianne and Gary got to the point where it's like, you know what, enough is enough.
19:06You know, we can't deal with this anymore, with this harassment, every single day.
19:15In addition to the endless noise, Lawrence's project is destroying the green allure of the neighborhood.
19:21It was a beautiful property, covered with trees.
19:24Next thing you know, you know, these guys come in.
19:26They destroyed the property completely, cut down all the trees, you know, turned it into a moonscape.
19:41Can he do this? Has he got the right?
19:44I used to work for Sacramento County in engineering.
19:46So Gary would ask me, can he do this, can he do that?
19:48If he's got a permit, you're out of luck.
19:51As long as the zoning is there and the city goes along with it, hey, you can't do nothing.
19:55As far as him using the easement, file a complaint, sue him, trespass him.
20:00Take him to court.
20:08Let's do it.
20:10Gary follows Joe's advice and lands Lawrence in court to stop him from using Boone Lane.
20:19It's not long before Gary and Marianne get some good news.
20:29The judge ruled in our favor.
20:32No more trucks on Boone Lane?
20:34Nope.
20:37And the judge said, no, you don't have an easement on Boone Lane and told, from what I understand, told Cutter to stay off of Boone Lane.
20:46Although Boone Lane remains a public access road, the court rules that heavy construction vehicles are not allowed.
20:58The news doesn't go over well with Lawrence.
21:02That pitbull, that tenacity that he has, Lawrence would fight, he would do anything he needed to to get his way.
21:07If he can't cut across Gary and Marianne's property to finish the job, he's going to have to carve a different path.
21:22It's a nice shed.
21:24Shame he's got to come down.
21:28What are you talking about?
21:30I'm putting a road right through here.
21:31What?
21:32He started in trying to bully people over the property land.
21:35Do you know how long I've lived here? I know what's mine.
21:38Not this. I've got a lot invested in this, so either you take it down or I will.
21:43He'd fluff up and try to be threatening and whatnot like that.
21:46You can't tell me what to do. I'm not one of your workers.
21:49When he wanted to do something, he didn't get his way, he started getting frustrated.
21:53And when he started getting frustrated, then he started getting threatening.
21:55I'm not someone you want to mess with.
21:57You're a little man with a big mouth is what you are. Now get off my land.
22:01My dad really did good, played it cool for me.
22:03My dad really did good, played it cool for a guy that can be hot-headed.
22:07You know, I was really concerned that him, my dad, would, you know, actually wind up knocking him out.
22:14This isn't over.
22:16You hear me? This isn't over.
22:21I got upset with him.
22:23If this was 20 years ago, I would have tried my best to beat that man to death.
22:28But I learned with age to be more calm.
22:33It's a lesson lost on Lawrence.
22:38He's going after all of his neighbor's property to build his access road.
22:44And the more vulnerable they are, the better.
22:47Hey, Craig, we gotta talk.
22:49It's Keith.
22:51Keith, these bushes, they're in my way. I gotta take them down.
22:54No you don't.
22:56Everybody in the neighborhood knew Keith, and he lives in a wheelchair.
22:59I need to get my trucks in here.
23:01I need to build a road.
23:03I have access. I have a right.
23:05Yeah, you have a right to walk, but this is not a road, and you can't make it one either.
23:09Well, too bad, because I'm gonna do it.
23:11So either you take him down, or I will.
23:13He was a bully. You know, he really, really bullied everybody.
23:16He threatened everybody, like, every day for months on end.
23:20Oh, because I'm old, you think I'm a pushover, huh?
23:22Screw you!
23:24Listen to me, old man.
23:26Well, to hell with you. Over my dead body.
23:28Yeah, well, that won't take long.
23:29Enough!
23:31Whenever he threatened Keith, I quite did believe him.
23:34We almost had a fight in the middle of the driveway right there.
23:36So, what? Now you guys want to take me on too?
23:38Oh, you need to calm down.
23:40Don't tell me what to do!
23:42Cut her!
23:44Don't cut her, me, you hick.
23:46You think I'm gonna let a bunch of rednecks stand in my way? I will own you!
23:48And that man got mad. My God, he got mad.
23:51And he started...
23:53Almost foaming at his mouth, you know?
23:56And he told Keith, he says, I'll see you dead. I'll have your property.
23:59I will own all of you. I'll put you in the ground if I have to.
24:01Do you understand me?
24:03Mark my words.
24:11Lawrence believes the whole neighborhood has united against him
24:15and is working to sink his home building venture.
24:19He decides to turn up the pressure on the couple that started it all.
24:23In his mind, he figured he could dominate it all, get what he wanted.
24:28Construction doesn't stop.
24:30But Lawrence's crew now has to travel much further to get to their job site.
24:37The businessman knows that lost time is money out of his pocket.
24:43What was that?
24:47He shifts tactics, now hoping to goad his neighbors into rash action,
24:52to give himself the upper hand.
24:55What is it?
24:58Stay here.
25:00What are you going to do?
25:02I think he was trying to get Gary to react.
25:05Gary maybe would assault him and he could sue him or, you know, something like that.
25:10Gary is ready to protect himself and his property.
25:15A lot of the people in our area do carry guns, but you don't know who,
25:20because nobody says anything.
25:22But the bus driver doesn't own just one gun.
25:24He has a full arsenal of firearms.
25:27Gary had a cache of weapons.
25:30I think there's at least two machine guns.
25:32Just countless assault rifles and weapons.
25:37Everybody has a breaking point.
25:41Gary, what are you doing?
25:43You know, obviously the guy had enough.
25:46Gary, get back here!
25:49Come out here and face me!
25:51That's it!
25:52Gary!
25:54Gary!
25:56Gary!
26:02You're being harassed daily by this bully.
26:05You're going to be awake at night thinking of, how do I stop this?
26:08How do I get this guy to stop?
26:12Where are you, you son of a bitch?
26:14Where are you?
26:16It did escalate.
26:18It just kept escalating, seemed like on a daily basis.
26:20Gary was being harassed constantly.
26:23You know, with no gain.
26:25Cutter had nothing to gain by harassing him.
26:29That's right, run away!
26:33Coward!
26:40With his housing development in purgatory,
26:43Lawrence takes on a new strategy to rile his neighbors.
26:46There was always something threatening.
26:48It was always something terrorizing.
26:53She was very afraid of this Lawrence.
26:59Now what?
27:01So he was going back down Boone Lane and harassing Gary.
27:06And I guess he's spinning his tires a lot
27:09and stirring up dust and just harassing him.
27:12Obviously he was a man that when he wanted something,
27:15he wanted to get it.
27:17He wanted to get it.
27:19He wanted to get it.
27:21He wanted to get it.
27:23He wanted to get it.
27:25He wanted to get it.
27:27He wanted to get it.
27:28When he wanted something,
27:30he was just going to harass you until he got it.
27:36And if what Lawrence wants is a fight,
27:39he's going to get one.
27:40That's it!
27:41Gary, get back here!
27:44Stay right there, you jackass!
27:46You know, putting yourself in front of a vehicle.
27:48Gary!
27:49Come on!
27:50It just seemed like you were throwing temper tantrums, you know?
27:53Come on!
27:55He was like a madman.
27:56Gary, stop it!
27:58Stop it!
28:09He could have killed you!
28:11But he didn't.
28:12Are you nuts?
28:13Why would you do a thing like that?
28:15Because now, we got him.
28:24Gary calls the police,
28:25claiming his neighbor attempted to kill him.
28:27He tried to run me over with his truck!
28:29I forgot something at the site,
28:30so I turned around,
28:31and this moron jumped in front of my car.
28:33He's been harassing us!
28:34Listen up!
28:35Because we're not going to say this again.
28:37You guys need to figure your issues out.
28:39The only thing I heard the cops say
28:40is tell them,
28:41told Gary,
28:42you go around the other way,
28:43and tell the cutter,
28:44you go the other way,
28:45and we're getting tired of coming out here.
28:46Go home and calm down.
28:50You too.
28:55Was it worth it?
28:57What do you mean?
28:58You're not making things easier, you know.
29:00You need to calm down.
29:01You're just making things worse.
29:03Seriously!
29:04I've had enough of it!
29:08The escalating tension is taking a toll
29:10on Gary and Mary Ann's relationship.
29:13It always had something to do
29:15with, um,
29:16anger issues.
29:18Basic anger issues.
29:20Lawrence doesn't care about Gary's anger.
29:23He just wants to get his housing development
29:25back on schedule.
29:27I'm going to do what I want to do,
29:28and I don't care about you people.
29:30That was his attitude.
29:34As summer comes to a close,
29:36the feud is about to hit its peak.
29:42Come on!
29:45That particular day,
29:47Mary Ann wanted me to come over,
29:48and I hadn't been over to her house before.
29:51Something wrong?
29:54Everything.
29:55I think I've had it.
29:57I've reached my limit.
29:59You want some company?
30:01You want to come over for a cup of tea?
30:04Sure.
30:06Thanks.
30:08So, I followed her home.
30:13Amidst the chaos of their lives,
30:15Mary Ann hopes for a calm afternoon with a friend.
30:20Gary isn't so level-headed.
30:25Oh!
30:29What are you doing?
30:31This is going to slow him down.
30:33Gary decided he wanted to, once again,
30:36kind of impede Lawrence's ability to access
30:39the property he purchased,
30:40so he put down some orange cones.
30:42Hey!
30:46What is wrong with you?
30:48And all of a sudden, he whips out this gun.
30:51I'm not going to let him win.
30:52Oh!
30:54Is that thing loaded?
30:55Wouldn't be much good if it wasn't.
30:57So, I was like,
30:59well, if you don't mind, could you put the gun away?
31:01Okay. Not around me.
31:03Why would you even bring it out here?
31:05Because I've had enough of him!
31:07I've had enough of both of you!
31:09I thought you were on my side.
31:11I was, until you lost your mind!
31:18I don't know what to do.
31:20Mary Ann's bad day is about to get a lot worse.
31:24All of a sudden, I hear some ruckus going on,
31:27and it's that Lawrence dude.
31:30Lawrence drives in, sees the orange cones.
31:35And he just picked them up and just threw them.
31:38Do you really think this is going to stop me?
31:41And he was just mad.
31:43He was just spitting mad, you know?
31:46Oh!
31:48I'm so tired of this, you little bitch!
31:50Can't you just leave us alone?
31:52You want me to call the police?
31:54You think that's going to make a difference?
31:56I will own your ass.
31:58And he's like, good, calm, and he's just,
32:00every word, I mean, he was just being out of control.
32:04I think you should go.
32:06Just, you should go.
32:08Just go. It'll be okay.
32:10You say so.
32:12I got in my car, because I'm feeling threatened,
32:14and he's just calling Gary.
32:17You know, come on out, you white trash.
32:20Gary! Come out here and face me!
32:22Get lost!
32:24Go get him right now, you stupid whore.
32:26He was just calling her name.
32:28Everything is just filthy ass language
32:31coming out of his mouth.
32:33Go get that jackass out here!
32:35That's far enough!
32:37You've made our lives a living hell, you bastard!
32:39I will bankrupt you, you hillbilly moron!
32:42You've been nothing but trouble ever since you moved in!
32:44I am so tired of this white trash!
32:46Stop! One more step and I'll...
32:48Gary realizes he left his pistol in the house.
32:53You're what?
32:55Uh...
32:57That's what I thought. You're worthless.
32:59The both of you.
33:02After the altercation with Gary,
33:04Lawrence takes off.
33:06Tries to just leave the situation.
33:08Don't let him leave!
33:12Mary Ann steps in front of his vehicle.
33:14Don't!
33:17Sometimes you just piss off the wrong people.
33:30Just go. It'll be okay.
33:32You say so.
33:34I just kept thanking to myself,
33:35God, I'm so lucky,
33:37because I don't know what could have happened.
33:39Gary! Come out and face me!
33:41I don't know what happened.
33:43Get lost!
33:45But I do know that shooting somebody 11 times
33:47is a little bit more than just self-defense.
33:51The conflict between Lawrence Vercara,
33:53Gary Bordas,
33:55and Mary Ann Stein
33:57has ended in bloodshed.
33:59We went to dinner,
34:01and he came back home.
34:03Next thing I know, the cops show up.
34:05There was, you know,
34:07a lot of law enforcement,
34:09you know, a lot of commotion going on,
34:11and I'm like,
34:13wow, what's going on here?
34:15Everything happened so fast.
34:17Take it easy. Relax.
34:19Just relax.
34:21Why did this have to happen?
34:23So we heard over a police scanner
34:25that Gary shot Cutter.
34:27Wow.
34:31Lawrence lies dead,
34:33his body riddled with bullets.
34:36I went and talked to my dad,
34:38and he says,
34:40uh, Gary shot Cutter.
34:42I go, he did?
34:44I go, did he kill him?
34:46He goes, oh, yeah.
34:48And the truck was revving,
34:50and it all happened so fast.
34:52When police interview Gary,
34:54he explains he had no other option.
34:56He had to shoot his neighbor.
34:58He was going to kill her.
35:00He claims the fight
35:02between Lawrence and Mary Ann
35:03left me no choice.
35:12He tells the deputies
35:14that Lawrence attacked them
35:16first verbally, then physically.
35:18The accounts vary of what occurred
35:20between Lawrence, Gary, and Mary Ann
35:23once Mary Ann stepped in front
35:25of Lawrence's vehicle.
35:27Gary contends Lawrence
35:29hit her with his truck.
35:33Lawrence gets out of the vehicle.
35:35Kill you!
35:37Mary Ann clings as he choked her.
35:41And Gary was supposedly
35:43protecting her.
35:45Get away from her!
35:56When it comes to
35:58defending his partner,
36:00one bullet isn't enough.
36:04He fired 11 shots.
36:06Two of those were in the heart.
36:12Here, take this.
36:14Call 911.
36:16Yeah, take it in.
36:27He was going to kill her.
36:29But Gary's story
36:31isn't adding up.
36:34For one thing,
36:3611 shots is excessive
36:38for a claim of self-defense.
36:40I think it would have probably
36:42only taken one shot
36:44to get the person down
36:46on the ground, you know,
36:48to save somebody,
36:50but not 11 shots.
36:52I think that Gary did
36:54what he had to do.
36:56And authorities question
36:58why Mary Ann took the gun
37:00back into the house.
37:01I can show you
37:03where I put the gun.
37:05I don't think she was
37:07really thinking.
37:09I think she was just being
37:11the protector,
37:13and it ended up just
37:15getting her in more trouble.
37:18Another problem
37:20with the couple's version
37:22of events is that
37:24Mary Ann doesn't appear
37:26to be injured.
37:28Their story could not
37:29have been told.
37:31It just didn't make sense.
37:33It wasn't really plausible.
37:35Gary is arrested
37:37and taken to jail
37:39until an investigation
37:41is complete and charges
37:43can be laid.
37:45Mary Ann remains free,
37:47but subject to watchful eyes.
37:51Keeping both partners
37:53under surveillance,
37:55law enforcement soon
37:57gets information that
37:58they inadvertently
38:00tip their hand to authorities.
38:02There's a secret conversation,
38:04recorded conversation,
38:06between Gary and Mary Ann
38:08as if they're trying to
38:10come up with a plausible
38:12explanation, a plausible story.
38:14Listen, you've got to
38:16make another claim, okay?
38:18Because he hit you with that car.
38:20Yeah, I told the police
38:22that he hit me.
38:23You came around,
38:25and then I backed off,
38:26and that tape
38:28was used in court
38:30against Gary.
38:32It's clear,
38:34the story they told
38:36is pure invention.
38:42It's now believed
38:44Mary Ann kept Lawrence
38:46from leaving
38:48so that Gary could run inside
38:50to retrieve his gun
38:52and get rid of his neighbor
38:54for good.
38:56Hey!
39:00When they told me how many shots,
39:02I was like,
39:04that's a little out of control.
39:17Gary ended up being charged
39:19with first degree murder,
39:21along with a host
39:23of weapons violations.
39:25And Gary was sentenced
39:27to 56 years
39:29to life in prison.
39:31I think they should have
39:33gave him manslaughter,
39:35not murder, manslaughter.
39:37So I would say
39:39he didn't plan it,
39:41but they say, yeah,
39:43he planned it
39:45when he got his gun
39:47and came back out.
39:49For her role
39:51in the fatal events,
39:52she was the one
39:54in relation to the murder.
39:56She is found guilty
39:58and sent to prison.
40:00Mary Ann was sentenced
40:02to 16 months for her part.
40:04After serving 12 years
40:06of his sentence,
40:08Gary Bordas dies behind bars
40:10at the age of 61.
40:12Gary had a bad heart for a while
40:14and he was under a lot of stress
40:16after he shot a cutter.
40:18Mary Ann did her time
40:20in jail.
40:22At least.
40:24All the fighting
40:26only served to bring tragedy
40:28to a once peaceful neighborhood.
40:30If Cutter would have been
40:32more of a human being,
40:34the neighbors would have
40:36worked with him.
40:38They really would have
40:40worked with him to try
40:42to make everything work out.
40:44I was raised to be
40:46respectful and honor.
40:48Honor thy neighbor,
40:50basically.
40:53Nobody deserves to be murdered.
40:55It's too bad that he couldn't
40:57have just been, you know,
40:59eventually just put in jail
41:01for being the threatening
41:03man that he was.
41:05I mean, that's why we're here
41:07in the first place, isn't it?
41:09To be a good person.
41:11Next time on Fear Thy Neighbor.
41:13I'm your neighbor just to the left
41:15with my husband Michael.
41:17Nice to meet you.
41:19The neighborhood was very nice.
41:20What kind of music?
41:22They got off on the wrong foot
41:24immediately.
41:25Everyone hates us here.
41:27She didn't even want to look at us.
41:29This was old Dallas murder.