Criminal Law: Aggravated Stalking – Sufficiency Of Evidence – Jurisdiction

(1)Where a defendant, who was convicted of the aggravated stalking of a judge, challenged the sufficiency of the evidence, the evidence was sufficient in that it showed that the defendant engaged in a continuing and escalating course of conduct through phone, faxes and letters to the judge with several communications using vulgarities and also threatened that if the judge did not remove a warrant, people would be hurt, so there was a credible threat, and similarly sufficient evidence supported the convictions for aggravated stalking of a prosecutor and assistant prosecutor.

(2)Even though a defendant in a stalking cases made calls and sent letters and faxes from Texas to a judge, prosecutor and assistant prosecutor in Missouri, the result of the conduct constituting the offense occurred in Missouri in the form of fright, intimidation and emotional distress, so the Missouri trial court had jurisdiction over the action.

Judgment is affirmed.

State v. Starkey (MLW No. 64224/Case No. ED97352 – 18 pages) (Missouri Court of Appeals, Eastern District, Richter, J.) Appealed from circuit court, St. Louis County, Hartenbach, J. (Craig A. Johnston for appellant) (Chris Koster and Timothy A. Blackwell for respondent).

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