STARKE— A 41-year-old Starke man was sentenced to 12 months’ probation after pleading to stalking his ex-wife and making a threatening hand gesture toward the woman’s boyfriend.
Beau Jeffrey Whidden pleaded to stalking and violating a domestic violence injunction.
According to an arrest report, the boyfriend of the defendant’s ex-wife told a Bradford deputy that he and his girlfriend were at the Griffis Loop Circle K when Whidden pulled up next to him in a vehicle.
“(The victim) stated that Beau pulled up as he was walking to his car,” wrote Deputy Paul Moody Jr. in the report. “He stated that Beau had his window down and made his fingers into a gun-like sign, and stated, ‘I’m going to kill you. I’ve been here the whole time.’ Then Beau left.”
The victim added that after he and his girlfriend returned home, they saw someone walking along the road toward the house. He added that his parents, who were driving toward the residence, also saw the walker, whom they identified as Whidden.
Bradford Sheriff’s Sgt. Logan Hough wrote in the same report that he questioned the defendant about the incident and reported that Whidden told him he went to the Circle K to buy a can of dip and did not know the couple was at the store. The sergeant added that, according to Whidden, when he realized the couple was at the store, he immediately left.
“I then asked about him making threatening gun signs with his hands,” Hough wrote, “to which he stated that he did not recognize who (the victim) was at first; he stated that (the victim) then threw up a finger as if he was saying hello, so Beau did it back. I then asked Beau if he threatened (the victim), at which time he stated that after (the victim) threatened to kill him, he threatened to kill (the victim).”
Hough stated that Whidden changed his story several times during the interview. He also reported that law enforcement had been called to the ex-wife’s residence several times due to the defendant walking or driving by the home and allegedly causing damage.
