The state appeals court has overturned last year’s harassment conviction of a White Bear Township woman who was once nicknamed the “neighbor from hell” because of her behavior.

In a ruling released Monday, the panel of judges said the state failed to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that Lori Elaine Christensen, 61, engaged in conduct that caused her then-next-door neighbor, Amy Wheeler, substantial emotional distress, as defined by state law.

Lori Elaine Christensen (Courtesy of the Ramsey County Sheriff’s Office)

A Ramsey County jury had found Christensen guilty of felony harassment for three incidents that occurred between November 2020 and May 2021. It was charged at the felony level because Christensen had two previous domestic violence convictions within 10 years. Christensen was sentenced to the presumptive stayed 23-month prison term and put on probation for three years. She appealed the conviction three months later.

An appeals court panel made up of Judges Matthew Johnson, Kevin Ross and Peter Reyes ruled that “the evidence is insufficient to prove that Christensen’s conduct caused, or would reasonably be expected to cause, ‘substantial emotional distress,’ as that term is defined in the harassment statute. Therefore, we reverse the conviction.”

Christensen gained notoriety more than a decade ago — including an appearance on ABC’s “20/20” — for her long-running pattern of harassment against neighbors Gregory and Kimberly Hoffman on a White Bear Lake cul-de-sac where she had previously lived.

In her years-long campaign against the couple, she was accused of lewd gesturing, screaming, loud swearing, taunting the family’s children and posting large signs about Kimberly Hoffman’s admitted struggles with alcoholism, such as, “I saw mommy kissing a Breathalyzer,” the charges said.

A harassment restraining order was issued in 2010, and police cited Christensen nine times that year for violating the order, according to court records. In 2011, she was convicted of two misdemeanors related to the violations. In 2012, a judge barred Christensen from living in her home and barred her from coming within a mile of the Hoffmans.

New neighborhood

In her new neighborhood, in White Bear Township, she was accused in 2021 of harassing Tim and Pam Pharrell, who moved next door to her in 2016. The Ramsey County Attorney’s Office later dismissed the case, which charged her with two counts of stalking, “in the interest of justice, specifically, judicial economy,” according to the court filing.

Wheeler, Pam Farrell’s sister, then moved into the home in late 2019 or early 2020. In conversations with Christensen, Wheeler initially denied the relationship with her sister, but Christensen eventually became aware of it.

According to the appellate court’s ruling, the first two incidents alleged in the harassment complaint involved Wheeler’s 12-year-old son. On Nov. 20, 2020, the boy told Wheeler that Christensen was yelling at him. After Wheeler went outside, Christensen continued to yell. A month later, Christensen approached Wheeler to complain that Wheeler’s son had littered by dropping a plastic yogurt cup and a wrapper on the street. Christensen threatened to call police and to ask the city to impose a $700 fine. Christensen called 911 and a police officer responded, but did not issue a citation.

In April or early May 2021, Wheeler decided to move out of the house. According to Wheeler, “it was starting to be too much where I couldn’t even enjoy the outside of my house or take my dog on a walk or in the backyard.” Her sister put the house on the market in early May 2021.

The third incident occurred later that month, when Christensen walked past Wheeler’s driveway with her dog while making a video recording with her cellphone. Christensen and Wheeler exchanged words, and then argued. Wheeler, like she did after the first incident, called police. Wheeler told the investigator the incident made her feel “scared” and “terrified.”

‘Substantial emotional distress’

Christensen did not argue to the appellate court the evidence was insufficient to prove she harassed Wheeler by “following, monitoring or pursuing” her. Christensen focused her argument on the statutory definition of substantial emotional distress, arguing the state did not prove any of Wheeler’s “responses that are manifestations of a victim’s mental distress, mental suffering or mental anguish, as required by the statutory definition.”

Substantial emotional distress is defined in the harassment statute to mean mental distress, suffering or anguish as demonstrated by a victim’s response to an act, including but not limited to: seeking psychotherapy; losing sleep or appetite; being diagnosed with a mental-health condition; experiencing suicidal ideation; or having difficulty concentrating on tasks resulting in a loss of productivity.

In analyzing the case, the appellate judges reviewed last year’s trial transcript and the video recording of the May 2021 incident. Johnson, writing on behalf of the panel, said the evidence showed that Christensen engaged in conduct toward Wheeler that was “rude, unkind, and unneighborly.”

“It is reasonable to believe that Christensen’s conduct would cause a next-door neighbor at least some emotional distress,” Johnson wrote in the 15-page ruling. “But the state does not argue that (Wheeler’s) actual response (which we have concluded is insufficient) was atypical or that a reasonable person would have experienced a greater degree of mental distress, mental suffering, or mental anguish than (Wheeler) actually experienced.”

Therefore, Johnson wrote, the state’s evidence is “insufficient to prove that Christensen engaged in conduct that would reasonably be expected to cause substantial emotional distress.”

Dennis Gerhardstein, spokesman for the Ramsey County Attorney’s Office, said the office respects the Court of Appeals’ ruling and “will make a decision on next steps after review and discussions with the attorneys involved in the case.”

A call to Christensen’s lawyer for comment on the appeals court ruling was not immediately returned Monday.

Court records show Christensen is on probation until September on a misdemeanor disorderly conduct conviction stemming from an incident with a city worker in August 2022. According to the citation, Christensen yelled at the worker, who drove away, and then followed him in her car and recorded him with her cellphone. She blocked the worker’s vehicle with her car to stop him from leaving, causing him to drive onto grass to get away.

In addition to the probation, she was ordered to serve an additional 10 days on electronic-home monitoring above what she had served in jail after her arrest.

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