Charges: Nightmare neighbor set off fireworks, mocked police, cancer patient
A Fairmont man is accused of setting fireworks off in his neighbor’s bushes, mocking police, and a cancer-stricken man.
Hunter James Cox, 24, was charged last week with felony counts of attempting to commit arson and terroristic threats. He also faces a multitude of other charges, including harassment, disorderly conduct, public nuisance, and unlawful deposit of garbage.
A criminal complaint says two of Cox’s neighbors on N Elm St called police after he began setting off fireworks in one of the neighbor’s bushes. A witness reported calling Cox out for actions, to which replied with “f**k you, b***h.”
Police arrived to find Cox sitting in the backyard of the home, where he lives with his parents. When police asked Cox if he had shot off fireworks he responded with a string of abusive language, according to the complaint. Cox allegedly called the officer a “f**king douche bag,” a “f**king piece of s**t,” and told him he “looked like a d**khead.”
As police approached Cox’s neighbor, Cox allegedly yelled, “you got cancer, or what?” Officers noticed a number of spent bottle rockets, which require a permit, in the neighbor’s yard. More were collected the next morning, according to the complaint. Police say it appeared bottle rockets had been shot directly at the fence, and black powder marks were visible on the flooring of an enclosed area, and on the garage siding.
The complaint says Cox began shouting names at his neighbor, calling him “cancer” and “a pussy.” He also allegedly told police he would “rather shoot fireworks off at my neighbor than get f**king suspended.”
Police say they collected 39 used bottle rockets and ten unused pieces.
Investigators followed up with the neighbor the next day, who said he had gone out to water his flowers when Cox came outside and began calling him vulgar names and told him he would die soon. The neighbor told police he suffers from cancer and he is worried that if he dies his wife will have to deal with Cox.