Teen star Miley Cyrus’ security guard told Municipal Court Judge Steven Scheer that the man accused of stalking Cyrus told an investigator that he was planning to go back to Cyrus’ movie set in Georgia and “finish things.”
The judge declined a request to lessen Mark McLeod’s $55,200 bond and said there was enough evidence to file the case in Chatham County State Court.
Scheer said there was no chance for McLeod, 58, to get to the “Hannah Montana” star because Cyrus can afford to get the best protection she can get, but the judge feared the stalker might be a danger to others.
Police say McLeod twice went to Tybee Island, where Cyrus had been filming and asked where he could find the actress.
Walt Disney Pictures hired former County police detective Robert Merriman to protect Cyrus. Merriman testified that McLeod sent a taped statement to an investigator in Columbia County.
“He said that he knew the filming was going to be ending soon and he was going to be coming back to Tybee Island and finishing things,” said Merriman, adding that the judge interpreted the comment as a danger.
“I can’t deny him bond, but if I could I would because I do feel he’s a danger,” Scheer said.
McLeod’s defence attorney, James Byrne, said McLeod is an unemployed plumber and he will likely remain in prison as he is doesn’t have the money to pay for the bond.
“He’s been kind of painted as this monster, but he’s got a family,” Byrne said. “He’s not a danger. What he said I understand was unsettling to a lot of folks … but it doesn’t make him a stalker.”
