Neighbor vandalizes a renter’s car, and after five keying and spray paint incidents, he finally catches her on camera, but fears the unclear footage won't be enough to get her successfully reported: 'Cops said you can’t directly see her hand doing it'

Author image for Emma Saven
Emma Saven
Dec 14, 2025 7:00 PM EST

We don't think there's ever going to be a valid excuse for keying another person's car…Like if they're blocking you, call a tow truck. Because what will keying their car actually do to help the situation, besides labelling you a bit of a…? Let's keep this PG, but use your imagination to fill in the blank, we know we sure did! Finding your car devastatingly keyed is one thing, but catching the criminal red-handed is a whole different league of 'what in the world do I do next?'

This man knows the feeling, after finding his car keyed for the FIFTH time, he decided enough is enough. It's time to catch the culprit! So he set up a dashcam and patiently waited for the criminal to be unmasked…Turns out it was someone a lot closer than he thought, a resident living in the same building. The audacity! He phoned the police and showed them the footage. But due to the camera's lack of clarity and limited angles, they responded with the 'There's nothing we can do' line…Now it's solely up to him to get her successfully reported and hold her accountable for her car-hating crimes. 

Advertisement

  • He is feeling powerless, whilst staring at his beat-up, spray-painted vehicle. How could someone do this to him…? His only option is catching her through a close-up video and taking that to the police, in hopes it will change their nothings into somethings…

  • Young woman checking the scratches on her silver car parked underground
    via macniak

    Image is representative only and does not depict the actual subjects of the story.

  • Neighbor has vandalized my car 6 times— finally caught them on camera and still no charges.

    I'm mostly venting, but if anyone has any advice that would be helpful also. So I live in an apartment building where each unit only gets one garage parking spot.
    via Person1746
  • My partner gets it because she pays most of the rent, so I always park on the street.
    via Person1746
  • Since May of this year, someone has been repeatedly vandalizing my car. First it was a single keying/scratch.
    via Person1746
  • I filed a police report and assumed it was a one-off by some random kid. About a month later, it happened again.
    via Person1746
  • I filed another report and started wondering if it was someone who lives in the houses further down the street.
    via Person1746
  • About a year ago, someone had left a note on my car sternly telling me not to park in front of their house (even though I'm legally allowed to).
    via Person1746
  • If I get home late, those are sometimes the only spots available. After the second keying, I stopped parking that far down the street and stayed closer to my building.
    via Person1746
  • Then in July, a third keying happened. I was furious at that point. I reported it again, and the officer basically said there was nothing they could do without evidence.
    via Person1746
  • After that, I set up a camera from my window looking down at the street, but I couldn't afford a dash cam at the time.
    via Person1746
  • A few months passed with no incidents... until October, when a fourth keying appeared. At that point I finally used my credit card and bought a dash cam, but installation kept getting delayed because I was sent the wrong hardware kit.
    via Person1746
  • Woman holding her car keys out of the window
    via gettysignature

    Image is representative only and does not depict the actual subjects of the story.

  • Now it's the first week of December, and not only do I have a FIFTH keying, but my car was also spray painted.
    via Person1746
  • This time, I finally caught the person on camera from my window. It turns out it's a neighbor in my building - someone I've never spoken to and have only seen once in passing.
    via Person1746
  • I called the cops and showed them the footage, but: • The keying happened on the opposite side of the camera, so you can't directly see her hand doing it.
    via Person1746
  • • The spray painting can't be clearly linked to the keying on video. So they said they can't officially charge her for the previous damage.
    via Person1746
  • At this point I am completely furious. I held off on fixing my car because I didn't want to for it to just keyed again, but now it looks trashed with spray paint, and it's a brand new car.
    via Person1746
  • I finally got my dash cam installed — but - the installer told me I need a different hardwiring cord because my car is British, so I currently don't have parking mode or nighttime recording yet.
    via Person1746
  • That won't be fixed until late December. Now I'm terrified that she's already noticed the dash cam and will just stop before I can catch her clearly on video.
    via Person1746
  • I feel totally powerless, angry, and at a loss for what to do next. tldr: My car has been vandalized 5 times (keyed repeatedly + now spray painted) since May.
    via Person1746
  • I finally caught the person on camera - it's a neighbor in my building - but the footage doesn't clearly show the act, so police won't charge her.
    via Person1746
  • My dash cam is installed but parking mode won't be active until late December, and I'm afraid she'll notice it before I can get real proof.
    via Person1746
  • Angry man looking at something on his iPhone
    via dimaberlinphotos

    Image is representative only and does not depict the actual subjects of the story.

  • My car looks trashed and I'm completely frustrated. Edit: For everyone saying I should confront her or do something to her car, I'd like to catch her in the act (a closer up video of her keying) ideally and don't want to tip her off.
    via Person1746
  • I fully plan on putting her on blast with the HOA once I can though.
    via Person1746

Want More? Follow Us and Add Us as a Preferred Source on Google.

Tags

keying-car spray painting reporting mystery Bad Neighbor dashcam
Scroll Down For The Next Article