Saw and order! Man uses a handheld Sawzall to cut his neighbor's garage in HALF during property dispute
- Gabriel Brawn took to the structure at 148 Grove St. on May 26 after two land surveyors determined that part of the garage was on his Dover-Foxcroft property
- Brawn and his family moved back to the area in 2012 to live at 140 Grove Street
- The .23 acres that makes up 148 Grove St. once belonged to the other residence, but a small home was added to the property several decades ago
- Brawn and his wife were friends with the previous owner, who died in 2016
- They claim that tenants and the man's son made it difficult to have peaceful mediation
A man strategically cut his neighbor's garage in half with a Sawzall after getting in to a series of disputes over the property.
Gabriel Brawn took to the structure at 148 Grove St in Dover-Foxcroft, Maine, on May 26 after getting two land surveyors to determine that it was partially on land that belonged to his property.
Brawn and his family moved back to the area in 2012 to live at 140 Grove Street, a property where he grew up.
The .23 acres that makes up 148 Grove St. once belonged to the other residence, but a small home was added to the property several decades ago, the Bangor Daily News reports.
Gabriel Brawn took to the structure at 148 Grove St. on May 26 after two land surveyors determined that part of the garage was on his Dover-Foxcroft property
Gabriel Brawn left the remains on the other side of the surveyor's line
Dealings between the two properties were peaceful up until the former owner of the more recent property, Steve Ritter, died in 2016. His wife, Theresa Laythe-Ritter, took over ownership but became an infrequent resident.
According to Tracy Brawn, Gabriel's wife, Laythe-Ritter rented out the property to tenants and that's when the couple began experiencing more issues.
'When the dad [Steve Ritter] was alive this was a perfect place to live,' Tracy shared. 'As soon as that poor man passed away this place turned to craziness and chaos.'
The couple even attempted to buy the property at 148 Grove Street but that proved unsuccessful.
The .23 acres that makes up 148 Grove St. once belonged to the other residence, but a small home was added to the property several decades ago (the garage is labeled in green)
Brawn (pictured) and his family moved back to the area in 2012 to live at 140 Grove Street, a property where the man grew up
In April, tensions between the two parties escalated after the Brawns put a load of wood chips near a previously established boundary so that a tractor could travel downhill and grab the downed tree limbs on their property.
Ritter's youngest son Blake Ritter then placed a stake in the ground where the chips had been placed.
'He said, 'This is our property, get your stuff off it,' so we had to call a land surveyor,' Tracy said.
Soon the first surveyor determined that the dividing line between the properties was right through the middle of the garage.
'The day the surveyor came and set the pins, the tenants that were there packed up and moved out that night,' Brawn said.
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The two properties got along until Steve Ritter, who owned the other home, died in 2016. His wife, Theresa Laythe-Ritter, (pictured) took over ownership but became an infrequent resident
After another surveyor provided a similar conclusion, the couple was allegedly asked by Blake Ritter if he could retrieve his father's ashes from the garage.
'We said, please do. We want our property back because we've been paying taxes on it for years,' Tracy explained. 'But he went over there and started throwing trash all over the place and smashing glass and taking bureaus and throwing them outside in the yard.'
Gabriel Brawn - who works in construction - took to his little project, leaving the remains on the other side of the surveyor's line.
A saw like this file photo was used to chop the garage in half
'There's been a property-line dispute for a couple of months and obviously that was the result between Mr. Brawn and the owner of the other building,' Dover-Foxcroft police Chief Ryan Reardon said.
No one has been at the property at 148 Grove Street since the stunt was pulled, Tracy shared, adding that no furniture was seen inside.
The couple has since put in a partial fence and has installed cameras on their side of the driveway.
'We're putting up a fence. Fences make good neighbors,' Tracy Brawn said. 'That's what we've learned from this.'
