Ex-Cop, Wife Stalked Woman Because She's French, Deputies Say

When professional water skiers Scot and Marion Ellis welcomed new neighbors next door to them on Lake Tennessee chances are they didn’t anticipate more than a year of harassment was soon to follow.

That, however, is what the Polk County Sheriff’s Office says happened to the Auburndale couple at the hands of a former police officer and his wife.

The feud between the Ellis family and Richard, 55, and Joy Ringer, 52, began about a year ago and escalated to the point that the Ellises feared for their lives and the safety of their family and their chocolate Labrador retriever, Rider, an arrest report stated.

The Ringers are accused of mounting a multi-pronged harassment campaign that included video surveillance of their neighbors’ home, verbal threats and even complaints filed with numerous government agencies about activities on the Ellis property, the report said.

The Ringers, the report said, took numerous videos and photos of their neighbors and anyone who happened to visit their home. Surveillance included photos and videos of visitors’ vehicles and their tag numbers.

Deputies also say the Ringers also engaged in a campaign of verbal abuse against their neighbors, especially Marion Ellis, who is of French descent. “Richard Ringer along with his wife Joy Ringer made Marion Ellis’ French nationality a focal point of their anger and contempt by taunting Marion with slurs and anti-French sentiments,” the report noted.

The verbal abuse included “derogatory statements about Marion’s nationality and that of her unborn child, making threats on their lives and the life of their dog, and making numerous unfounded complaints to various government agencies,” the report stated.

At one point, the Ringers turned bright security lights onto the Ellis home, disrupting the sleep of the couple’s young son, the report said.

The Ringers filed complaints about their neighbors with such agencies as the Department of Environmental Protection and code enforcement, the report said. Those complaints included water ski-related issues, problems with the seawall, dog waste, noise, fences and ski jump locations. The Marion and Scot Ellis, the report noted, train regularly on the lake.

The Ringers repeatedly called Marion Ellis a “frog,” a derogatory term for a French person, and also asked the woman if she was “Having a French frog,” in reference to Marion’s pregnancy, the report said.

Back on March 3, Richard Ringer, the arrest report noted, met with investigators at the State Attorney’s Office. At that point, Richard was told his behavior had to stop or stalking charges would be forthcoming, the report noted.

The Ringers stopped the harassment for a few weeks, but “then they became even more aggressive toward their neighbors,” the report said.

On Sept. 7, deputies say Richard Ringer destroyed a wooden fence that had been constructed between the couples’ two homes, deputies noted. He’s accused of throwing the pieces onto the Ellis property.

Joy and Richard Ringer were brought into custody on Oct. 21. Richard Ringer was charged with felony criminal mischief and aggravated stalking. He was released from the Polk County Jail on Oct. 23 in lieu of $6,000 bond. Joy Ringer was also charged with aggravated stalking. She was released in lieu of $5,000 bond, jail records indicate.

The sheriff’s office hasn’t stated what law enforcement agency Richard Ringer worked for.

Booking photos courtesy of the Polk County Sheriff’s Office