Richard Anthony Franco, 27, arrested after he was allegedly caught for a third time at Berry’s home, was charged Wednesday with felony stalking in a series
of incidents that the actress said made her fear for her life.
Franco, who is being held in lieu of $150,000 bail, was charged with one felony count of stalking after allegedly showing up at Berry's Hollywood Hills home on repeated occasions.
Franco was arrested about 11:15 p.m. Monday after neighbors reported a possible burglar, police said. He is on probation after pleading no contest in June to a misdemeanor battery charge and is facing up to three years in state prison if convicted.
Berry detailed in civil court papers three incidents of an alleged stalker tresspassing on her property.
“This person has invaded and trampled upon the most fundamental sense of security I have.... I am extremely frightened," Berry said in court papers. “He has terrorized me and my family."
The series of alleged incidents began Saturday when the actress was standing in her kitchen with her manager and saw a stranger in her backyard, carrying something in his hand and approaching the house, court records show.
She “screamed there is a guy in my yard,” according to the court filing.
Berry’s manager stepped outside and confronted the man -- later identified as Franco -- who asked for someone named “Santiago,” according to court documents. Berry said she did not know anyone by that name and “felt in extreme danger at that moment,” according to the filing.
Berry said the manager yelled, “If I had a gun I would shoot you.” Berry and the manager then watched on a security monitor as the man scaled a fence around the property and walked away, according to the filing.
Franco returned shortly before 5 p.m. Sunday, the filing alleged. Berry said she went out to her garage/salon and left the key in the door as she usually does. She was inside for 10 minutes when she stepped back into the kitchen for a cold drink.
“All of a sudden I sensed someone behind me and turned to see the same intruder standing less than a foot behind me, staring at me through the glass kitchen door,” Berry stated.
“Panicking and in fear of my life, I turned my body and quickly hit the deadbolt lock on the glass door,” she said. “I grabbed my phone and ran as fast as I could upstairs, slamming each door behind me as I ran. I got upstairs to a safe place, locked myself inside and dialed 911."
Reacting to the incidents, Berry hired a team of armed security officers to guard her home around the clock. About 10 p.m. Monday, she said, she was alone with her 3-year-old daughter when the security team alerted her to “get to safety as quickly as possible with my daughter and stay there,” according to the filing.
A few minutes later, Franco was apprehended.
Source -- www.latimesblogs.latimes.com
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