A Schuylkill County woman is facing an ethnic intimidation charge after police say she yelled a racial slur at her next-door neighbor.
Marianne Parker, 74, of Shenandoah, is charged with ethnic intimidation, a second-degree misdemeanor, and harassment for communicating lewd, threatening or obscene language, a third-degree misdemeanor.
Police say they were called to the 100 block of W. Penn St. around 11 a.m. Aug. 12 for a report of a disturbance between neighbors.
The man who called police told an officer he has had ongoing problems with his next-door neighbor for several years. He said mail was being delivered that morning and that he greeted a postal worker at his front door and took his mail, and that his neighbor then shouted from her open front door, “F*** you, n*****.”
Two women were walking near the intersection of W. Penn and N. West streets at the time, within about 25 feet of the two front doors, police say. Both told police they heard a woman yell the phrase. When they walked toward the homes, one of the doors had just slammed shut, and both women later told police the voice came from the neighbor’s residence, police say. Both said they would be willing to testify to what they heard and where it came from.
Police went to the neighbor’s home and got no answer, so a business card was left on the door. Parker called about 30 minutes later.
Parker reportedly told police she was home alone and that her neighbor’s face was in front of her doorway, which spooked her, police say. She confirmed her front door was open at the time and said she shouted something she should not have said, and that she did so only because she was startled, according to police. When asked what she said specifically, Parker repeated the phrase, police say. She also confirmed she had been shouting at the man whose face she saw in her doorway, police say.
Parker told the officer the problems between the neighbors have been going on for several years. Police told her she would receive paperwork in the mail and directed her to have no further contact with her neighbor.
Parker is scheduled for a preliminary hearing Sept. 3 before Magisterial District Judge Anthony Kilker.
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