Charlotte County Sheriff’s Deputy David Motz has been arrested and charged for allegedly stalking his ex-girlfriend “for approximately one year.”
The 31-year-old Florida cop is also accused of threatening to murder her if she reported him, The Daily Beast reported.
A probable cause affidavit stated authorities arrested Motz on Wednesday and charged him with aggravated stalking, which involved actively following, threatening, and harassing the victim.
The woman who remained unidentified in court records for her protection claimed that her ex-boyfriend was abusive and that told her if he was to lose his job over his own actions, she would “end up like Denise Amber Lee.”
Lee was a 21-year-old mother of two who was kidnapped, raped, and murdered. Her gruesome case garnered a lot of attention in Florida.
“The victim took this [threat] to mean that she would be kidnapped, raped, and murdered like Denise Amber Lee was in Charlotte County, FL,” the affidavit states.
The Sheriff’s Department confirmed to The Daily Beast that Motz, who was hired in February 2018, was placed on administrative leave without pay until a thorough investigation was done.
A judge ordered Motz to be held on a $1,500 bond in Charlotte County Jail, and he is not allowed to contact the victim.
The two dated on and off for two years. Before Motz stalking, the victim says he was terrifyingly abusive.
“It is a sad day as another law enforcement officer has tarnished our badge and has broken that sacred trust we work so hard to build,” Charlotte County Sheriff Bill Prummell said in a news conference announcing the charges on Wednesday. “We are tasked with enforcing the laws and protecting our communities. This does not put us above it.”
The victim also made allegations that during a June 2019 argument, Motz “pointed his department-issued Taser at her, turned it on, and threatened to ‘Taser her.’”
“She added that she asked him how he would explain to his department how the discharge of the loaded cartridge happened, and he then turned off the Taser and put it away,” the affidavit reads.
Motz is accused of stalking her after she broke things off. She also told police that she “repeatedly asked him to stop contacting her, but he ignored her wishes and continued to call, show up at her work, email her, and follow her to different locations in and around” North Port, Florida.
The victim provided her phone records, voicemails from Motz, and emails to prove the harassment.
“He has also dropped off gifts and deposited $1000.00 into her account,” the affidavit states, but she returned the gifts each time.
“As law enforcement officers, we should always rise above any standards set. That makes it even more disturbing when an officer of the law, who is put in a position of public trust, abuses it,” North Port Police Chief Todd Garrison said on Wednesday.
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