A nightmare neighbor who terrorized the couple residing above her by means of their Ring doorbell has been jailed for greater than three years.
Drina Grey, 52, harassed victims Ben and Emma – who don’t wish to give their surnames – “morning, midday and night time,” a choose mentioned.
Ben, 32, purchased his first flat in Wandsworth, southwest London, in 2022.
However when council tenant Grey moved into the flat beneath his the next April, his life modified.
After reporting her for kicking her canine – which he says he caught on CCTV cameras – Grey launched right into a “relentless” marketing campaign that made Ben and his accomplice Emma prisoners in their very own house.
Within the months that adopted, Ben’s neighbor smashed two Ring doorbells in lower than a yr, issued common chilling threats through cameras and took her canine to soiled their doorstep.
The product supervisor even misplaced his job at a startup firm due to the dearth of sleep he was getting as a consequence of Grey blasting loud music and hovering the communal hallway within the early hours of the morning.
Numerous disturbing movies captured by Ben’s cameras present Grey shouting, swearing and threatening him.
After Grey was lastly prosecuted for her marketing campaign of hate and a choose ordered her into custody, she escaped from court docket and went on the run for weeks.
She claimed that Ben had been utilizing her as “bait” to make his 31-year-old accomplice Emma, who additionally lives on the flat, jealous after a break-up.
However jailing her for 40 months, Choose Peter Lodder KC informed her she had harassed the couple “morning, midday and night time.”
“You made the lives of your neighbors hell,” he mentioned. “You persistently harassed them morning, midday and night time.
“Regardless of orders being obtained to hunt to forestall you from behaving in the way in which you probably did, you continued in your marketing campaign.
“It might be that you simply had been drunk, however that’s not an excuse – it’s an aggravation.
“It’s no comfort in any respect to the folks you had been threatening with excessive violence.
“This was over a interval of six months. You properly knew what you had been doing.”
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Choose Lodder jailed Grey for 40 months after she admitted fees of harassment meant to place in concern of violence, two fees of prison harm referring to doorbell cameras she smashed and a public order offense of utilizing threatening phrases and habits in the direction of Ben.
An extra cost of failing to adjust to a neighborhood safety discover was handled by the use of a two-year conditional discharge at Wimbledon Magistrates’ Courtroom in June.
Ben, who claims he recorded “140” separate incidents of harassment over 18 months, has complained beforehand of the way in which Grey’s case was handled by the authorities, together with by the Metropolitan Police, Wandsworth Council and the court docket companies.
He claims that when Grey as soon as threatened to “shoot” him and his accomplice Emma, who works in advertising and marketing, police took “13 hours” to reply.
Courtroom instances involving Grey had been adjourned a number of occasions earlier than she was lastly sentenced for her offending.
Prosecutor Dylan Bub, outlining the details of the case, informed the court docket: “The sufferer and defendant are neighbors – they dwell in the identical block.
“The defendant moved into the underside flat in April 2023.
“Because the defendant moved into her property, she engaged in a marketing campaign of harassment towards [Ben].”
Bub defined that although the primary yr handed with out incident, Ben put in cameras at his property after Grey stole two parcels from outdoors his door.
In Could 2024, he mentioned Grey broke the primary of two Ring doorbell cameras – which value $137 every – by punching it “repeatedly.”
Bub informed the court docket that after Ben reported Grey’s harassment to police, she continued to make threats – together with as soon as threatening to burn his home down.
He continued: “[Gray said]: ‘It’s not me you must fear about, it’s Chris… We’d like a pleasant fireplace, don’t we?’.”
Grey was issued a neighborhood safety discover later in the summertime, which the court docket heard she broke that very same day.
As soon as arrested and charged, Grey’s case dragged by means of the courts, being adjourned a number of occasions for quite a lot of causes.
On one event, Grey absconded from court docket after the case was adjourned, prompting a determined police search and a warrant for her arrest.
However after she was finally caught and introduced earlier than a crown court docket choose, the prosecutor mentioned “no proof” had been offered by police, and the cost was dropped.
Ben informed Kingston-upon-Thames Crown Courtroom that Grey’s abusive marketing campaign had left him feeling “embarrassed, humiliated, numb” and even “suicidal”.
In his witness assertion, written final December, he mentioned: “To place it merely, this example has utterly taken over my life.
“What ought to have been a contented and thrilling time for me – proudly owning and residing in my first house – has changed into a residing nightmare.
“I don’t really feel protected in my own residence anymore and dwell in a state of numbness attributable to nervousness and despair.
“As an alternative of being a spot the place I can loosen up and unwind, it’s a spot the place I’m continually on edge, ready for the subsequent abusive episode from Miss Grey.
“Every single day I really feel trapped, understanding she’s proper beneath me, able to scream abuse at me, make threats and constantly taunt me and my accomplice.
“Her threats in the direction of me are terrifying. She recurrently shouts that individuals are ready to ‘break my legs’ or ‘minimize my throat’.
“These outbursts come out of nowhere, utterly unprovoked, and depart me shaken and scared.
“There have been a number of occasions when I’ve known as the police as a result of threats to kill and haven’t left my property by means of concern.
“I can’t bear in mind the final time I felt relaxed. Many days I’ve simply felt hopeless and numb.
“I’ve turn out to be very withdrawn and stopped doing the issues I used to take pleasure in as a result of I’ve misplaced the vitality and motivation.
“My household has observed an enormous change in my character. The scenario has even impacted my relationship with my accomplice.
“In the summertime of 2024, issues turned so insufferable that I’d keep away from coming house altogether and stick with pals.
“At night time, I now must put on earplugs and activate a fan simply to attempt to drown out the noise of shouting, swearing and continuous abuse.
“The fixed stress has additionally taken a toll on my bodily well being. I’ve been sleep-deprived due to Miss Grey’s shouting and abusive habits, which finally ended up in me dropping my job.
“Fortunately, I’ve managed to discover a new job with understanding employers, nevertheless it doesn’t change the truth that I’m nonetheless coping with this nightmare day-after-day.
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“The stress and lack of sleep depart me bodily drained on a regular basis. I really feel embarrassed and caught.
“I really feel like I’ve no means out, which has led to suicidal ideas earlier than I used to be taking my remedy.
“This example has left me feeling damaged – mentally, bodily and emotionally.
“I really feel like my life has been on pause for 18 months due to Miss Grey’s actions.
“I’ve misplaced my peace of thoughts, my well being, my job, and even the power to take pleasure in my house.
“I simply wish to really feel protected and regular once more.”
After studying the identical influence assertion at a magistrates’ court docket look earlier this month, Ben added that he and his accomplice had been “failed” by each authority.
“I’ve misplaced full religion in the entire public companies which are there to guard us,” he mentioned.
“This case has been adjourned 5 occasions. Each time you adjourn for 4 or 5 weeks, it’s only a quantity for you… However for me and my accomplice, it’s excited about it night time after night time.
“The police, the courts… Everybody has failed us.”
Grey learn a private letter to the choose out in court docket, wherein she apologized for her actions but in addition claimed Ben had used her as “bait” to make his accomplice ‘jealous’.
Her defence advocate, Tammy Sher, additionally informed the court docket a number of automotive accidents had pushed her to alcohol, and that she too has suffered from suicidal ideas.
However Choose Lodder mentioned she “deserved” her sentence, telling her: “You got many a warning. You selected to disregard these warnings and breach the notices that had been served upon you.
“I’m conscious of the implications of your habits: [the victims] had been frightened in their very own houses, incapable of enjoyable.
“You induced in them panic assaults and sleep deprivation.
“[Ben] misplaced his job, however happily obtained one other.
“I can wholly perceive why he says he turned suicidal in his pondering and determined, since you ignored council and court docket orders.
“It’s vital that [Ben] mentioned, ‘I simply wish to really feel protected and regular once more’.
“His accomplice has had related experiences. [She has had] to witness the have an effect on on her accomplice.
“You’ve gotten 18 convictions for 40 offences. Your offending has been aggravated by alcohol.
“In my opinion, you deserve a sentence of 40 months’ imprisonment.”
A spokesperson for the Metropolitan Police Service mentioned: “Drina Grey performed herself appallingly, and we lengthen our sympathies to her sufferer, who endured an unrelenting marketing campaign of harassment.
“The defendant admitted to quite a few offences – together with harassment and prison harm – following a Met investigation. She awaits sentencing for these.
“Adjournments in case hearings are on the discretion of the courts. A cost of escaping from court docket on Wednesday, 26 March, was initially introduced towards Grey by the Met.
“Nevertheless, this was later discontinued by the Crown Prosecution Service.”
Cllr Aydin Dikerdem, a WBC Cupboard member for housing, mentioned he accepted the authority might have acted sooner following Ben’s severe complaints about his neighbor.
“Wandsworth Council takes crime and anti-social habits (ASB) very significantly, and we work with companions to each help residents and to take the suitable motion towards these accountable,” he mentioned.
“This can be a complicated case the place housing officers have been working carefully with a lot of completely different companies, together with the Police, to resolve the matter.
“An ASB Case Assessment was accomplished and suggestions had been made, with the neighborhood security workforce partaking with the affected neighbors.
“Following the current prison listening to, the Council have obtained an injunction to forestall this particular person returning to the property and we’re persevering with to hunt possession of this property.
“We settle for that we might have acted extra swiftly, and following this case adjustments are being made to our ASB case administration system to make sure the suitable actions are taken extra promptly and that complainants are saved up to date.
“Council officers have met with the people affected to debate what additional help might be offered.”
