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Kingsport Police Department
200 Shelby Street • Kingsport, TN 37660 ThomasMPatton • 423-229-9433 (Desk) • 423-224-2786 (FAX) |
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| NEWS RELEASE | |||
| SUBJECT: | Man Arrested for Aggravated Stalking after Lewdly Targeting Teenage Female Students in School Parking Lot | ||
| DATE: | April 28, 2017 | ||
| CASE #: | 17-006054 (March 16 Incident)
17-009593 (April 26 Incident) 17-009770 (April 28 Incident) |
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| GENERAL NARRATIVE | |||
| A 44 year old man is behind bars after apparently masturbating in view of two teenage girls in a school parking lot and then returning to the scene to stalk one of them two days later. The facts of the case are as follows:
On April 26, 2017, at approximately 6:45 AM, an 18 year old female student arrived at Dobyns-Bennett High School, located at 1 Tribe Way in Kingsport. When she arrived, she noticed a blue Jeep, occupied by a white male adult, already parked in the lot. She remained in her car working on her homework until her friend (17 year old female student) arrived and got into the car with her. A few minutes later, the Jeep moved to just a few spaces away from them. They observed the man to be making movements inside the vehicle that were clearly consistent with the act of masturbation. They said that there was no question in their minds what he was doing. They said that he continued this physically offensive activity even after he clearly realized that they had noticed him. He eventually drove off. The girls attempted to get the license plate number of the Jeep and promptly reported the incident to their K.P.D. School Resource Officer, who conducted an initial investigation. As it turned out, they misread one digit of the plate number, so neither the suspect nor his vehicle were able to be immediately identified or located. Two days later, on April 28, 2017, the same 18 year old girl arrived at school and noticed the same Jeep, occupied by the same white male adult, parked in her usual parking space. She drove behind the Jeep and made careful note of the plate number, realizing that she had misread one of the digits during the earlier incident. The Jeep began following her car in the parking lot. She became terrified and intimidated and immediately called 9-1-1. She drove to the front of the school before the man ceased following her and eventually left the parking lot. When police arrived, she was visibly shaken, obviously uncomfortable, and extremely upset. The corrected tag number that she provided (Tennessee registration 1E7-5A3), was registered to a blue Jeep Grand Cherokee, owned by Steven R. Blakley. Upon being shown a photo array containing a prior jail booking photo of Mr. Blakley, she was able to positively identify him as the suspect in question. Officers responded to the address on the registration, 818 Oak Street, Apartment #306, and spoke with Mr. Blakley’s mother, who informed them that he had just gotten married and that his new bride lived at Model City Apartments, located at 1000 Stonegate Road. The Jeep was soon located parked outside of the Model City Apartments “P” building, with Mr. Blakley being located inside apartment P-15. He was subsequently arrested and transported to the Kingsport City Jail. He was charged with 1) Aggravated Stalking (a Class E felony) and 2) Disorderly Conduct. He remains incarcerated in the Kingsport City Jail in lieu of a $5,000 bond as specified by the presiding judge or magistrate. A similar incident in the Dobyns-Bennett High School parking lot, involving a suspect and vehicle closely matching this same description, was reported on March 16, 2017. The victim in that instance was a different student (16 year old female). That case remains under active investigation by the K.P.D. Criminal Investigations Division with the possibility of additional charges pending. Both Mr. Blakley’s booking photo and photographs of his vehicle are included in this release as a public service. Based on the predatory nature of these crimes and his apparent preferred target audience, parents are strongly encouraged to familiarize themselves and their children with these photographs. |
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| SUSPECT INFORMATION | |
| Name | Steven R. Blakley |
| Age | Date of Birth 11/15/1972
44 Years of Age |
| Gender/Race | Male/White |
| Residency | 818 Oak Street, Apartment #306
Kingsport, TN Or 1000 Stonegate Road Model City Apartments # P-15 Kingsport, TN |
| Charge(s) | 1) Aggravated Stalking
2) Disorderly Conduct |
| RELEASING OFFICER | ||
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Thomas M. Patton, Public Information Officer
Kingsport Police Department Professional Standards Unit |
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