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The Spokesman-Review Newspaper
Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

Coroner Steps Over The Line Trying To Drown Out Sound Wenatchee Doctor Rigs Device To Turn Off Neighbor’s Noisy Pool Filter

Associated Press

The Chelan County coroner hooked a fishing line to a neighbor’s pool filter so he could turn it off while he slept, a city attorney said Wednesday.

Coroner Dr. Jerry Rappe told a police officer he rigged up the line to turn off the pool filter next to his bedroom wall because the noise made his bedroom vibrate and interfered with his sleep.

Robert Sealby, assistant city attorney, said his office plans no action against Rappe because there is no evidence he committed a crime.

“You need some kind of corroborating evidence to support the confession,” Sealby said, noting the incident was “a neighborhood dispute” that can be better resolved through negotiations or civil proceedings.

Rappe said Tuesday he was sorry for what he did, and still hopes to work out a solution with his neighbors.

“I don’t know if this makes me a criminal, and I’m willing to accept my penalty, but what I did, I did without malice,” Rappe said. “I just simply felt I needed a good night’s sleep without listening to that mmmmmmmm.”

Rappe said he stuffed foam between his bed and the bedroom wall and attached cardboard to the exterior wall in unsuccessful attempts to muffle the noise.

He rigged the fishing line to the pump filter switch after his neighbors left for the weekend.

But the fishing line leading to Rappe’s bedroom window was discovered Saturday afternoon by a relative who came to the neighbor’s house.