Many people have trouble with their neighbors. Sometimes your neighbor’s tree is hanging over your property and making a mess on your lawn or deck. Most of the time it’s about noise or a dispute about a parking spot.

A Missouri man allegedly shot his neighbor to death after an argument over mowing the lawn. 

They had been arguing for years, officials said.

Samuel Avery, 42, of Kansas City, was charged Monday for the death of his next-door neighbor, 41-year-old Warner Trotter. The second-degree murder charge followed Trotter being shot in the head on his front porch. 

Police found Avery on his porch next to the neighbor’s porch, after Avery had called the police to inform them he had just killed his neighbor. 

The two men had had arguments before because Trotter didn’t like Avery mowing his lawn early in the day. Police had been called on two previous occasions due to their fighting. 

Avery admitted that they had a volatile relationship for the last ten years. Monday was the last straw. Trotter was upset that Avery’s lawnmower and was too loud and he threatened him, according to Avery. Avery called the police, who did nothing, and at some point Trotter pulled a gun out, perhaps just for show – to threaten his neighbor. 

Later in the day, a woman was in Trotter’s house, and she heard the two men have an altercation outside. She said she heard several shots.

Avery told police that Trotter pulled a gun on him and that Avery fired back. There were security cameras in Trotter’s home and they show the two men having a conversation outside, then Avery entering the house, and Avery shooting Trotter multiple times. 

According to the video footage, Trotter did not reach for his gun. Officers at the scene found a weapon on Trotter’s body, under his waistband. 

Other neighbors should take note. Avery’s bond is $100,000 and he can be on house arrest with a tracking device. He was ordered not to possess or be around any weapons.