NASELLE — A dispute between neighbors resulted in a man being charged with a felony in the Pacific County Superior Court. The incident unfolded on Aug. 12 at 6:52 p.m. on a property near the 700 block of State Route 4 in Naselle.

Pacific County Sheriff Daniel Garcia, a Naselle resident, responded to the call after a resident called 911 to report such a dispute had turned criminal, with property damage.

According to court records, upon arriving on the scene, Garcia met with the alleged victims and learned that Jeffrey K. Ross, 55, had allegedly taken an axe to their fence and cut part of a solar panel that powers a security camera with an angle grinder.

“They proceeded to show me the camera footage of [the] incident,” Garcia states in court records. “[The alleged victims] stated that they were in fear for [one’s] safety when [they are] alone on the property and that the last deputy to speak with them said he was trespassed and to staff off of the property.”

Garcia went to the Ross property and met with his mother.

“I asked if her son Jeff Ross was inside, and she replied that he was not,” Garcia states in court records. “I explained that his brown Ford pickup was around back. She gave me permission to look for him around the house.”

“I found Jeff Ross under the back porch on the south side of the residence. I explained that his neighbors had called on him. He told me he was looking for the water line and detailed his side of the civil dispute over the property line. I told him I watched the footage of him destroying the neighbor’s property with an axe and angle grinder,” Garcia added.

The damage is estimated to cost $117 for the solar panel and cable, $110 for two cattle panels, $200 for labor, and $1,127 for the fence — a total of about $1,554.

According to court records, the Pacific County Prosecutor’s Office filed one count of second-degree malicious mischief against Ross on Oct. 24. He was issued a summons the same day, and his arraignment hearing is scheduled for Nov. 22.

Ross has previous convictions in Pacific and Wahkiakum counties for second-degree assault strangulation, first-degree malicious mischief, DUI, and third-degree assault.

Under Washington state law, a second-degree malicious mischief charge can be filed when a person causes damages in excess of $750 to another’s property.