Mixed-race family claims neighbor sent death threats, bullets in the mail
The Pineda family says Suzanne Craft has been harassing them for about a year.
A mixed-race family in Louisville, Kentucky claims they’ve been the victims of harassment at the hands of their neighbor, The Courier-Journal reported. Michela and Connie Pineda — who share five children — said Suzanne Craft has been targeting their family “almost daily” for the past several months.
In July, the Pineda family alleged Craft marked their property on numerous occasions with racist graffiti. They filed a no-contact order, and she was arrested and charged with three counts of criminal mischief and three counts of harassing communications.
Nearly two weeks later, Craft violated the order and allegedly tampered with the Pineda family’s lawn. The Pinedas — whose family consists of Filipino, Latino and Black members — believe she attempted to burn a swastika into the grass using chemicals and bleach. She was found guilty of being in contempt of court, and was sentenced to seven days in jail and seven days on house arrest even after she maintained her innocence.
The Washington Post detailed other incidents, including the time Craft scared Pineda’s kids into thinking she would run them over with her vehicle. On another occasion, Craft’s daughter reportedly called the Pineda children racial slurs.
Most recently, on Wednesday (Nov. 11), the couple took to Facebook to share security camera footage that appears to show a woman delivering notes to their home, one of which included bullets. “Found 2 in our yard and have 3 separate instances where we found our neighbor violating her no-contact order and dropping things off in our yard,” the Pinedas wrote. “We found two bullets in the mail with a threatening note. We contacted the FBI, we contacted the prosecutor, so at this point we are waiting for someone to contact us to pick up these letters and bullets that keep coming.”
Despite seeking assistance from law enforcement, other neighbors, the community’s homeowners association and the legal system, the Pinedas say the harassment — which has been going on for about a year — continues, causing their family to live in fear.
The Pineda family’s attorney, Vanessa Cantley, told The Washington Post that Craft has put a damper on her clients’ normal activities. She said the children “won’t go out and play in the yard” or take a walk. “They are basically prisoners in their own home. The whole family sleeps in the living room, where there are no windows, because they just don’t know what this woman is capable of,” Cantley said of the Pinedas.