Bothell couple says neighbor threatened them by leaving empty ammo boxes outside of their home
May 22, 2024, 6:51 AM
A Bothell couple claims their neighbor has been threatening them for more than half a year. (Photo courtesy of KIRO 7)
(Photo courtesy of KIRO 7)
A Bothell couple said their neighbor has been threatening them for more than half a year, including allegedly leaving empty boxes of ammo outside of their home.
Alleged threats
KIRO 7 News spoke with Pedro Rios about the alleged incidents Tuesday.
“I was indefinitely afraid,” he said.
Rios and his fiancé own a condo in Bothell on Waynita Way Northeast, which has been in the family for more than 15 years.
He said his neighbor, who we are not naming because he has not been formally charged, left the empty boxes of ammo last November.
KIRO 7 News saw surveillance video that captured a man leaving the boxes near his front door.
“My fiancé said, ‘Oh my God. Those are boxes of bullets,'” he said. “We seen him place the boxes neatly in front of our front door. And then he pulls out his camera and he turns around and he starts filming our bedroom through our bedroom window.”
Rios said his neighbor has taken multiple pictures and videos of their bedroom window, scratched their door and damaged their property throughout the past months.
“We’ve had to cover our kitchen window because he would look through our kitchen window,” he said.
Rios said he called police and filed a protection order against his neighbor in January, but the alleged threats continued.
The family purchased a second surveillance video for protection, Rios told KIRO 7 News.
Court documents
KIRO 7 News requested court documents from the City Prosecutor’s Office.
Documentation showed Rios’ neighbor was ordered to surrender all of his firearms in January.
Bothell police discovered the neighbor had purchased four firearms; however, documents indicated the neighbor only surrendered his concealed pistol license.
Bothell detectives said no guns were turned over by the neighbor as of January.
Rios said the judge gave his neighbor multiple warnings to surrender all of his firearms. But as of May, he has not received a confirmation that police had retrieved his weapons, Rios added.
Rios said the neighbor continued to threaten his family for months.
“He would also yell racial slurs knowing we’re home,” he said. “I was afraid that I would not be able to protect her (fiancé) if I were not home and she got home before me.”
“It scared us. It scared my fiancé. It made us feel uncomfortable to the point we didn’t want to go outside if we saw his van parked out there,” he added. “We would stay home. We felt like we were caged in our own home and not safe at all.”
KIRO 7 News reached out to Bothell police to get more details. A spokesperson said the case has been handed over to the City Prosecutor’s Office to review its probable cause.
However, police officials confirmed the neighbor was arrested in March in violation of the protection order.
Court documents also indicated a judge had signed off on an amended protection order, filed by Rios, indicating his neighbor posed as a credible threat, and ordered his neighbor to not harass, follow, monitor or have contact with Rios.
“We’re more afraid than ever knowing he still has his weapons,” he said.
Neighbor
KIRO 7 News knocked on the neighbor’s door to get his side of the story. No one answered.
We also called him, however, the neighbor said he did not want to talk on camera or share a statement.
We spoke with a nearby neighbor who said she was familiar with the alleged incidents. She shared a photo of a document that she said was written by the neighbor explaining his side and calling Rios and his fiancé “liars.”
According to court documents, the neighbor also filed for a protection order against Rios in December of 2023, accusing Rios of stalking him.
The document also requested Rios to surrender all firearms.
The neighbor wrote, “Pedro Rios has on multiple occasions come at me in a way that clearly intended to threat me.”
“This guy has serious problems and is clearly very comfortable with intimidation and bullying,” he added.
KIRO 7 News asked Rios about his neighbor’s protection order. He said he is aware and believes his neighbor is retaliating due to his protection order he had filed.
We asked the City Prosecutor’s Office about its next steps on the case. A spokesperson said he is working to gather those details for us.
