Plagued by Stalker, Resident Moves Out

Imagine living in a glass home and having your every move watched by a transient stalker who believes you’re living in his house.

This is the alarming, ongoing case that was heard before the Pacific Palisades Community Council last Thursday.

The ordeal began in May 2012 when the 35-year-old victim, who asked to remain anonymous, moved back into her mother’s semi-circular home with dramatic ocean views on Revello Drive in Castellammare.

“I moved back from Asia last year,” said the daughter, who grew up in the Palisades. “I would keep the blinds angled down so no one could see me when I was inside the house at night.”

Within a week of moving in with her mother, she began noticing empty beer cans on the property, which also overlooks Pacific Coast Highway and Sunset.

“The beer cans began showing up near the patio directly beneath my bedroom window,” she said.  “Sometimes I would smell [marijuana] drifting in from the window, but I thought it was just some neighborhood kids.”

After a short time, “I heard from neighbors that there was a homeless man going to door to door and asking them, ‘Which house is the one with the two ladies?’”

The situation only escalated from there, said the daughter, who has since moved out of the house because of the allegedly obsessed transient.

One day, “I’m driving up hill and I see the man walking. Within five minutes, he walked to our front door and began fiddling with the door knob, screaming and trying to get in.”

The police were called, but they couldn’t arrest the man on any charges related to her home because he didn’t actually attempt to break in, or do any damage to the property, she said. However, they did arrest him on unrelated drug charges that night near the corner of Sunset and PCH.

A few months passed and the family believed the worst was behind them, but then on August 12 at 10:30 p.m. they heard “the banging of metal pipes coming from the backyard.”

“The banging grew louder and louder so we call 911,” the daughter told the Palisadian-Post. “By now, [the alleged stalker] had climbed up the entire side of our backyard and was beneath our windows screaming.”

In late August, the family hired contractors to install fencing and a security system, and they even purchased a gun.  However, the situation only escalated from there. To date, the family has called 911 about 20 times. The victim believes the transient is camping out on an empty lot in her neighborhood and says she has contacted the property owner to no avail.

“[As of March 3] he has taken to calling 911 himself,” the daughter said. “He said ‘I own the house’ and  ‘two women are inside tied up and bound as hostages.’ We woke up at 5 a.m. to the sound of police banging on our door.”

Now that the daughter has moved away, the man only comes around when she’s visiting her mother. “It’s like I’m a prisoner in my family’s home,” she said.

About a month ago, the victim stopped by the home with a friend to pick up a few things. “My friend tells me, ‘It doesn’t seem so bad.’ I open my blinds and within a few minutes we see the guy in the Gladstone’s parking lot screaming at us.”

Palisades Senior Lead Officer Michael Moore told the Post Monday that he “has contacted the property owner [of the empty lot] and sent him a link to a Web site that leads to trespass authorization letter. This document would allow me to clear the homeless off that property.”

Moore said he has also contacted detectives in regards to dealing with the man. “There may be other issues that will allow us to bring this guy in,” he said.

As for the stalking and threats, the claims might be hard to prove since the man doesn’t follow the victim around and no crime reports have been filed, Moore said.

In the end, it will be up to the L.A. District Attorney’s office whether or not any charges are filed, Moore said.