MIDLAND, Texas — Midland District attorney Laura Nodolf says stalking is a term many have twisted or dumbed down to the same old scenario.
“There’s a general misconception that stalking means it’s the person lurking around the corner. That you’re at a stoplight and you look over and you see somebody, an ex let’s say, staring at you," said Nodolf.
"Or you walk out of your place of business and there they are. Or they're leaving notes on your car and that’s not what the definition of stalking is."
So what is it? Nodolf says it’s best broken down into two categories.
“The first category addresses where you believe that pursuant to the same scheme somebody is going to cause you bodily injury is going to cause some type of damage to your property," Nodolf said.
"And then in the second set of definitions we talk about it in the dating relationship. We aren’t just talking about people that are currently together. It could be that they’re separated. It could be the ex-girlfriend of the new boyfriend and that individual, if they are doing something that is intended to harass, annoying or alarm on these multiple occasions to an individual, than it could fall under the stalking statute," said Nodolf.
Nodolf says they've already seen an increase with cases this year and fear people are typically ashamed or scared to report it and take action.
“What we’ve seen is stalking that ranges from yes they’re showing up at their place of work, they’ve slash their tires, they’ve sent nasty notes, they have painted their homes with crude language. All the way to text messages to 'I didn’t realize you had dinner at such and such place last night. Who was that with you? Or why didn’t you call me?' So we have a whole gamut but that’s why we look at each of the cases individually," said Nodolf.
So what should you do? Nodolf says to first call the police, file a report and document everything so officials can make those elements of the offense.
“Sometimes making that one statement 'stop, don't communicate with me any further' will work. Unfortunately a lot of the times it doesn't," said Nodolf.
To contact the District Attorney's office about a potential stalking case you can visit the Midland County website.
