Stalking is a crime in St. Mary’s County, Maryland. If you are arrested and charged with stalking, you should contact the top-rated and aggressive Maryland criminal defense attorneys here at the Law Office of Robert Castro. Call us at (301) 870-1200 if you have been arrested or charged. We are available around the clock, 24/7.

Under Maryland criminal law, “stalking” is defined as a malicious — that is, intentional — course of conduct that includes approaching or pursuing another person to cause fear of some sort of harm and/or emotional distress. See Md. Crim. Code, §3–802. The “intent” criminal element can be satisfied if the stalker knows “or reasonably should have known.” The “course of conduct” criminal element can be proven by the prosecuting attorneys where there was a:

• Persistent pattern
• Occurring through a series of acts
• Over time
• Indicating a consistent and continuous purpose

See Md. Crim. Code, § 3-801. The “cause fear” criminal element includes the requirement that the fear be “reasonable” and must be one or more of the following:

• Fear of serious bodily injury or death
• Fear of an assault of any type or degree
• Fear of rape or sexual offense or attempted rape or sexual offense in any degree
• Fear of false imprisonment
• Fear that some other person might suffer any of the above acts
• Causing serious emotional distress

Stalking is punishable as a crime regardless of whether the stalking is done in person, by electronic communication, or through the use of some device that can pinpoint or track the location of another without the person’s knowledge or consent (like a GPS tracker of some sort). If convicted of stalking, then the convicted defendant can be sentenced to up to five years in prison and/or a fine of up to $5,000.

Potential criminal defenses to the charge of stalking

From the above, there are many potential criminal defenses that can be asserted and used to defeat the charges. These include accident and mistake, either of which would  negate the required intent necessary for a conviction. It might also be possible to challenge the “course of conduct” element by showing no consistent pattern or the absence of acts “over time.” It may also be possible to successfully argue that the victim’s alleged fear or emotional distress was not “reasonable.”

Other potential Maryland criminal defenses include:

• Mistake or wrong identification — someone else was doing the stalking
• Alibi — the person charged could not have committed various acts that amount to the alleged course of conduct
• Insufficient facts
• Violation of constitutional rights
• Violation of police procedures
• And more

Additional charges

Maryland has several other criminal statutes that are often charged alongside stalking. These are generally similar, but less serious, charges. By charging more than one crime, the prosecutors increase their chances of obtaining a conviction. The two most notable are harassment — Md. Crim. Code, § 3-803 — and Misuse of Telephone Facilities and Equipment and Electronic Communications Systems — Md. Crim. Code, § 3-804-805.

Contact Waldorf, Maryland Criminal Defense Lawyer Robert Castro Today

This article has been provided by the Law Office of Robert Castro. For more information or questions, contact our office to speak to an experienced Maryland criminal defense lawyer at (301) 870-1200. We are Waldorf, MD, Criminal Defense lawyers. Our address is 2670 Crain Highway, Waldorf, MD 20601.