Gabriel and Tracy Brawn moved into Gabriel’s childhood home in Dover-Foxcroft, Maine, in 2012 and enjoyed a warm relationship with next-door neighbor Steve Ritter, whose garage had been partially built on the Brawns’ property decades ago. 

But after Ritter passed away in 2016, his wife and grown children took over the property, sometimes renting it out, and “this place turned to craziness and chaos,” Tracy Brawn told the Bangor Daily News, leading finally to Gabriel Brawn grabbing his Sawzall one spring morning and cutting the Ritters’ garage in half, right down the property line. “We’re putting up a fence,” Tracy Brawn said. “Fences make good neighbors.” 

Dover-Foxcroft police Chief Ryan Reardon commented, “We were aware of the situation and believe it’s been resolved at this point.”