Los Angeles - Arab Today
A jury has acquitted a man of stalking model and reality TV star Kendall Jenner and convicted him of trespassing at her secluded Hollywood Hill home.
The jury of seven women and five men returned the verdict Monday against Shavaughn McKenzie after a seven-day trial in which Jenner described her fear at finding McKenzie lurking in her driveway and banging on her car window in August.
A defense attorney had urged jurors to reject the stalking charge, saying there was no evidence showing McKenzie intended to cause Jenner fear.
McKenzie is scheduled to be sentenced Nov. 10 on the misdemeanor trespassing charge. He could face up to six months in jail but will likely be released because of credits for good behavior.
His attorney Taylor Shramo said he hopes to secure mental health treatment for McKenzie, a Florida native who traveled from Georgia to Los Angeles last year and started hanging around outside Jenner’s former home. The verdict marks the second time this year that a Los Angeles jury has rejected a stalking case involving a celebrity. In February, a jury acquitted an Ohio man of stalking Gwyneth Paltrow after determining he did not intend to cause her fear by repeatedly sending letters to her.
Perez said McKenzie followed Jenner’s car onto the property and only left after she backed out of the driveway and three of her friends arrived to detain McKenzie until police arrived.
“I’ve never been so scared in my life,” the 20-year-old Jenner testified, saying she had recognized McKenzie as the same man who twice accosted her while she was driving outside her former home.
Source: Arab News