CYBERSTALKING / FOLLOWING / HARASSMENT (F.S. 784.048)
CASE DISMISSED/NOLLE PROSEQUI
Santa Rosa County, FL
April 14, 2025
This file arose from a domestic-context stalking/cyberstalking complaint in the Milton / Douglas Drive area of Santa Rosa County. Deputies from the Santa Rosa County Sheriff’s Office (reporting deputy Kyler S. Bohner, approving supervisor Randy Dahl, and other patrol personnel) investigated repeated, unwanted electronic messages and direct-message contacts that continued after the recipient blocked electronic communications. Deputies documented screenshots, message threads, and contemporaneous reports showing repeated outreach across social platforms and apps — the core facts supporting the domestic-stalking theory in this local, family-context dispute.Potential exposure: when charged as a domestic-violence stalking offense, the statute permits felony treatment depending on aggravators; a stalking conviction under enhanced domestic-violence subsections can result in felony exposure (commonly up to about 5 years for third-degree felony strata, with higher exposure possible under aggravating subsections). In addition to incarceration risk, a domestic-violence stalking designation brings immediate and long-term collateral consequences (no-contact orders, restrictions, and a criminal record).
Defense and result: we preserved all electronic evidence, subpoenaed message logs, and tested the State’s timeline and intent theory while developing mitigation and context about the family dynamics that gave rise to repeated contact. Rather than accept an overbroad plea, we repeatedly set the case for trial and forced the prosecution to confront evidentiary gaps. After sustained, trial-ready pressure, the Office of the State Attorney filed a NOLLE PROSEQUI and dismissed the stalking/cyberstalking file — a result that avoided felony conviction and the attendant collateral harms.