A Bothell couple said their neighbor has been threatening them for more than six months, including by leaving empty boxes of ammunition outside their home.
ALLEGED THREATS:
KIRO 7 News spoke with Pedro Rios on Tuesday about the alleged incidents.
“I was scared indefinitely,” he said.
Rios and his fiancée own a Bothell condo on Waynita Way Northeast that 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 ammunition behind last November.
KIRO 7 News saw surveillance video showing a man leaving the boxes at his front door.
“My fiancée says, ‘Oh my God. Those are boxes of bullets,” he said. “We saw him neatly place the boxes in front of our front door. And then he takes out his camera, turns around and starts filming our bedroom through our bedroom window.
Rios said his neighbor has taken multiple photos and videos of their bedroom window, scratched their door and damaged their property in recent months.
“We had to cover our kitchen window because he would look through our kitchen window,” he said.
Rios said he called police in January and filed a protective order against his neighbor, but the alleged threats continued.
The family purchased a second surveillance video for protection, Rios told KIRO 7 News.
RIGHT DOCUMENTS:
KIRO 7 News has requested court documents from the Public Prosecution Service.
Documentation showed that Rios’ neighbor was ordered to surrender all his firearms in January.
Bothell police discovered that the neighbor had purchased four firearms; However, documents showed the neighbor had only surrendered his concealed pistol permit.
Bothell detectives said no guns had been transferred by the neighbor as of January.
Rios said the judge warned his neighbor several times to surrender all his firearms. But he has not received confirmation that police have recovered his weapons since May, Rios added.
Rios said the neighbor continued to threaten his family for months.
“He also shouted racial slurs even though he knew we were home,” he said. “I was afraid I wouldn’t be able to protect her (fiancé) if I wasn’t home and she got home before me.”
“It scared us. It scared my fiance. We felt so uncomfortable that we didn’t want to go out when we saw his van parked there,” he added. “We would stay home. We felt like we were locked in our own house and not safe at all.”
KIRO 7 News reached out to Bothell police for more details. A spokesperson said the case has been transferred to the Public Prosecution Service to investigate its probable cause.
However, police officials confirmed that the neighbor was arrested in March in violation of the protection order.
Court documents also revealed that a judge signed an amended protective order filed by Rios that indicated his neighbor posed a credible threat and ordered his neighbor not to harass, follow, monitor or have contact with Rios.
“We are more scared than ever because we know he still has his weapons,” he said.
NEIGHBOUR:
KIRO 7 News knocked on the neighbor’s door to hear his side of the story. Nobody answered.
We also called him, but the neighbor said he didn’t want to talk on camera or share a statement.
We spoke to a neighbor who said she was aware of the alleged incidents. She shared a photo of a document she said was written by the neighbor, explaining his side and calling Rios and his fiancée “liars.”
According to court documents, the neighbor also filed for a protective order against Rios in December 2023, accusing Rios of stalking him.
The document also requested Rios to surrender all firearms.
The neighbor wrote: “Pedro Rios has approached me several times in a manner that was clearly intended to threaten me.”
“This man has serious issues and is clearly very comfortable with intimidation and bullying,” he added.
KIRO 7 News asked Rios about his neighbor’s protective order. He said he is aware and believes his neighbor is retaliating for the protection order he filed.
We asked the Public Prosecution Service about the next steps in this case. A spokesperson said he is working to gather those details for us.
