Deputy stalked ex-wife as he looked up her tag 100 times in 4 days, Tennessee cops say
A deputy is accused of stalking his ex-wife by using a law enforcement database to look up her car tag over 100 times in a matter of days, Tennessee authorities said.
The 38-year-old man has been relieved of duty with the Shelby County Sheriff’s Office, where he worked for more than 10 years, pending the outcome of the investigation, officials said.
McClatchy News is not identifying the deputy to avoid identifying his ex-wife.
He was arrested Aug. 5 on misdemeanor charges of stalking and harassment, records show.
“We are hoping that people will not pass judgment on (him) and will wait until the entire story comes out,” the man’s attorney, Arthur Horne III, told McClatchy News on Aug. 9.
The deputy’s ex-wife reported to detectives that she was “very concerned” because she believed her ex-husband was tracking her using a law enforcement database, according to an arrest affidavit.
He sent her a message asking “Where are you going?” and told her the exact area she was in at the time, deputies said in the affidavit. She added he sent her a vulgar message from an unknown number as well, officials said.
The woman said she had her car checked for GPS trackers, but nothing was found, so she suspected he was tracking her whereabouts another way.
Investigators reviewed the deputy’s search history and said that from Aug. 1 to Aug. 4, he searched his ex-wife’s license plate about 20 times and searched her tag over 100 times.
He posted $1,000 bond on the condition he wouldn’t contact his ex-wife.
Shelby County includes the Memphis metropolitan area.
This story was originally published August 9, 2024 at 3:57 PM.