A Long Island couple has been arrested for racially tormenting and harassing a Black woman in Valley Stream. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
John McEneaney, 57, was charged with criminal mischief and harassment after allegedly shooting pellet guns and dumping dog feces in the woman’s yard, among other racial scare tactics. Meanwhile, according to a spokesman at the Nassau County District Attorney’s Office, McEneaney’s girlfriend, Mindy Canarick, 53, was charged with criminal tampering.
But now, McEneaney says he just wants to “live in peace” after denying that he’s been terrorizing 39-year-old Jennifer McLeggan, for years.
“I just want peace … All I ever wanted was to live in peace,” he said. McEneaney lives next door to McLeggan with his girlfriend, Canarick, and his father Michael McEneaney.
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Last month, Mcleggan, who is a registered nurse with a two-year-old daughter, placed a sign on her front lawn that said, in part: “My neighbors have been racially harassing me since I purchased my home … They have said that I can be erased … I live in FEAR in my home.” The picture was posted on social media and garnered widespread attention from Nassau County Executive Laura Curran, local activists, and fellow residents. In support of McLeggan, activists took to the streets and marched through Valley Stream. McLeggan previously tried to get a restraining order in connection with the dispute.
Between the two families, there have been nearly 50 calls made to police. The calls first started happening when McLeggan moved to the block back in 2017. Miriam Sholder, a spokeswoman for Nassau District Attorney Madeline Singas, said she and investigators “have been in regular contact” with McLeggan and her lawyer. “Our investigation is actively ongoing,” she said.
Just days before his arrest, McEneaney said that McLeggan’s claim that he threatened to have her “erased” is “absolutely absurd and untrue.”
“My family has lived in Valley Stream since 1964, and we’ve never had a problem with anyone. I wish her and her child well,” McEneaney added, referring to McLeggan.
But McLeggan shared a different story of her experience. She claimed that he terrorized her with dead squirrels and feces left by her house. She also mentioned the neighbor’s “guns seen on video,” McEneaney wearing blackface and him using a blow torch in his home.
“They said: ‘Go back to where you came from,” McLeggan told Daily News last month. “That’s what’s going on here. I don’t deserve it.”
McEneaney and Canarick stood before the court on Monday to hear the charges, before they were released on their own recognizance. However, a judge ordered the two to stay away from McLeggan in the meantime.
“The aggression of the neighbor (it) went on too long,” McLeggan’s lawyer said, adding that the arrest was long overdue. “For years, she felt unsafe, coming to a place she was supposed to feel safe at, coming home. But it’s more representative of the overall state of the poor relationship between the police and the Black community here on Long Island.”
“The Nassau County District Attorney has been very professional in handling this matter, they gave Jennifer a forum to bring her complaints forward,” the attorney added. “The police have been to Jennifer’s house. I can’t tell you how many times over the last three years, and nothing was done by the police county department.”
Last week, Assemblywoman Michaelle Solages gave activist Anthony Herron Jr. a “Protect Black Women” citation to mark his 30th day of parking outside McLeggan’s home overnight to keep watch.
After the three-year-long dispute, McEneaney and Canarick have since moved out of the Valley Stream home. However, McEneaney’s father, Michael, remains.
