Stalking a Los Angeles Laker

An El Segundo woman has been charged with stalking Los Angeles Lakers forward Luke Walton. The woman was arrested after she pulled up to his car and pretended to fire gunshots at him with her hand. She pleaded not guilty to a misdemeanor count of stalking. A Nov. 6 trial date has been set in the case. She faces up to a year in county jail if convicted, district attorney spokeswoman Jane Robison said Tuesday.

Walton said the woman has been harassing him since late last year. He told the Orange County Register she waited outside his Manhattan Beach home numerous times and wrote on his car with a marker after he refused to sign an autograph.

Stalking charges are serious and almost every state now has a strict stalking law. Stalking includes cyber stalking (online stalking on the Internet), celebrity stalkers, workplace stalking, and any stalking behavior or harassment, which puts the stalking victim in fear for their safety.

Anti-stalking laws began in California in 1990, as a direct result of the murder of TV star Rebecca Schaffer and the repeated stabbing of film actress Theresa Saldana by an obsessed fan turned celebrity stalker in 1982. Although most people associate stalkers with celebrities, celebrity stalking is only a small part of total stalking statistics.

The definition of stalking is a series of unwanted actions or conduct that puts a person in fear for their safety. Stalkers usually begin with persistent and annoying behavior that is not criminal, but progresses to stalking behavior that can be punished under California criminal stalking laws.

In California, the stalking law is covered under Section 646.9 of the Penal Code, which states that any person who willfully and maliciously, and repeatedly follows or harasses another person and who makes a credible threat with the intent to place that person in reasonable fear for his or her safety or that of an immediate family member is guilty of stalking.

Besides this case, there have been many high-profile stalking cases involving celebrities, politicians and other popular individuals. Uma Thurman of Kill Bill was stalked by an obsessed fan for two years; this fan was arrested outside the actress’ home in New York City on October 5, 2007. Tyra Banks was being stalked by a man who was arrested in March of 2008 after he tried to gain entrance to Tyra’s show with a duffel bag full of her memorabilia.