Page 5 - IAV Digital Magazine #567

Hagerstown Man Indicted
After Texting His Ex-girl-
friend 815 times In 2 days
iAV - Antelope Valley Digital Magazine
MARTINSBURG
— A Hagerstown man is facing up to five years in prison for allegedly calling his ex-girlfriend more than 800 times in two-day stretch.
Derik Wayne Bowers, 41, was indicted on one count of stalking by a federal grand jury in Martinsburg, after court docu- ments allege he harassed and intimidated his for- mer girlfriend through text mes- sages, phone calls and social media.
His ex-girlfriend, of Morgan County, is alleged to have received 815 calls in 48 hours from Bowers, while also receiving thou- sands of “harass- ing text messages over a several month period,” the U.S. Attorney’s Office of West Virginia’s Northern District claims.
Bowers is also alleged to have used social media posts to embarrass his ex-girlfriend
and “interfere with her livelihood.”
“Cyberstalking is a pervasive problem that we treat very seriously in West Virginia,” United States Attorney William Ihlenfeld said. “I encourage those who are being intimidated online and who suffer substantial emotional distress as a result to file a police report so that wrongdoers may be investigat- ed and held to account.”
Bowers could receive up to a five-year sentence
if convicted. A fed- eral district court judge will deter- mine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory fac- tors, according to the Department of Justice.
The Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Morgan County Sheriff’s Office investigated the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Kimberley Crockett is prosecuting the case on behalf of the government.
iAV - Antelope Valley Digital Magazine