A resident of Oxford Oaks was arrested for allegedly stalking her neighbor because she thought he had a device aimed at stopping her dog from barking.
The saga began on April 17 when an officer responded to a disturbance at Oxford Oaks, the family development on U.S. 301, according to an affidavit from the Wildwood Police Department. Upon arrival, he found 59-year-old Francesca Ann Williams outside her nearby residence.
She claimed her neighbor had been harassing her by calling her derogatory names, including “Nazi,” “communist” and “terrorist.” She also claimed her neighbor had items that belonged to her and she wanted them returned. She explained they were dog toys, specifically “Jolly Balls,” but she did not know how many he had, the affidavit said.
When asked how the toys came to be in her neighbor’s yard, Williams admitted she intentionally threw her own dog’s toys over his fence. She also claimed he had a “machine” in his lanai. She could not describe what it looked like or how it worked, only that it somehow incapacitated her dog, the affidavit said.
The officer also spoke to the neighbor, who stated that Williams came to his residence and pounded on his door, demanding he step outside, the affidavit said. Her knocks were so loud that the sound vibrated throughout the man’s home. When he finally answered the door, he saw discarded boxes scattered across his driveway. Williams stood near the roadway, yelling, “Clean that up.”
At that point, he began recording the interaction on his phone. He told Williams to stop throwing her dog’s balls into his backyard. She cursed at him and called him a “Nazi.” He ordered her not to message him, talk to him or come onto his property, the affidavit said.
Williams’s husband later explained that the conflict between his wife and their neighbor started over barking dogs. Williams believed the neighbor bought a device that emits an inaudible sound intended to deter barking. The husband had not seen such a device and could not confirm it was real, the affidavit said.
Even though the alleged device could not be proven, Williams continued having conflicts with the neighbor. She had been acting “irrationally.” She had reduced her medications and became paranoid, making statements tied to geopolitical concerns, the affidavit said.
Her husband witnessed several incidents in which the neighbor tried to defuse the situation by sending non-confrontational messages, such as “God bless you,” to which Williams responded with profanity. His daughter and ex-wife experienced similar frustrations with Williams and considered pursuing restraining orders against her, the affidavit said.
The husband said that Williams not always this argumentative or vengeful. He and other family members observed a negative change in her behavior beginning around February 2025. He had already arranged for her to begin speaking with a therapist about her mood swings and behavior, the affidavit said.
The officer subsequently walked through the neighbor’s backyard to find three multicolored dog balls. One of the balls had a handwritten message with Williams’s address. The neighbor advised that Williams repeatedly threw the balls into his yard. He believed it was an accident at first, but it happened so frequently that he now thought Williams wanted to inconvenience him by forcing him to return them and interact with her, the affidavit said.
She had sent him more than 500 messages in the past two weeks, despite his not responding and blocking her, the affidavit said. Among the hundreds of texts were 18 photos of his residence taken from different angles and sent on different days. Several notable messages included blasting him on the neighborhood Facebook page, visits to his house, and calling him names like “Nazi Coward Bigot Pedo.”
The officer ultimately served Williams with a trespass warning, ordering her to stay away from her neighbor’s property. She signed the copy, appearing emotionally distraught and crying as she did so. When asked if she was OK, she stated she was fearful of the neighbor, the affidavit said.
Williams was arrested this past week on a warrant charging her with stalking. The California native was booked at the Sumter County Detention Center and released after posting $1,000 bond.