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Man cuts through connecting wall of neighbor's home with weed trimmer while laughing and saying he was going to 'figure out ways to make your life hell': Cops

 
Charles Bowden

Inset: Charles Bowden (Flagler County Jail). Background: The hole he allegedly cut through his neighbor's wall in Palm Coast, Fla. (WOFL).

A Florida man allegedly used a weed trimmer to break through a wall of a neighbor's home as her mother slept, saying he was going to make her life "hell."

Charles Bowden, 58, is charged with aggravated assault and burglary, according to the Flagler County Sheriff's Office.

Bowden allegedly cut about a softball-sized hole in the wall of the duplex he shares with his neighbor. Cops responded to the Palm Coast home early Sunday morning when the victim called 911 and said Bowden was using a hammer and power tools to break through their shared wall.

The defendant stopped when deputies arrived, but it took about 90 minutes for them to coax him outside.

Natasha Crockett told local Fox affiliate WOFL that the ordeal was "like a horror film." Bowden broke through the wall of Crockett's mother's bedroom.

"She says, 'Tasha, it sounds like they're coming through the walls. Sounds like a skill saw, or I don't know what,'" Crockett said.

Crockett showed deputies a video of Bowden screaming with banging noises in the background.

"I'm going to be crawling through the walls and figure out ways to make your life hell," he said, per the affidavit.

He also threatened to kill the mother, cops said.

"I hope you scream as they cut you too tight, they drag you across the driveway in the most painful way possible, back the truck over you, then hit you for good measure," he allegedly said.

Deputies noted that Bowden "sounded manic" and was laughing through the ordeal. He accused her of killing her husband, who died of natural causes, and her granddaughter, who drowned when she was out of town, the affidavit stated.

After Bowden surrendered, deputies went into the home, where they found the weed trimmer and hammer on the ground covered in drywall dust near the wall, per the complaint.

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The defendant allegedly said "yeah, I threatened her" and told deputies "If you went through the door, you would've been dead because I would've shot at you."

Bowden was taken to the Flagler County Jail, where he is being held without bond. He has a court date set for Oct. 27.

Sheriff Rick Staly said Bowden won't be able to break through the walls of the jail.

"Talk about a neighbor from hell," said Staly. "Nobody should be made to feel threatened while in the safety of their home, and I am thankful our deputies arrived quickly and this incident didn't escalate further than a hole in the wall."

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