Judge Continues Hearing for Defendant Accused of Stalking

By D.C. Witness Staff - June 25, 2020
Court | Daily Stories | Homicides | Suspects |

A man thought to be homeless was almost taken off of GPS monitoring by a judge when he admitted that he has had a home from the beginning.

Norman Horace is charged with one count of stalking–should have known harm. Horace allegedly sends the person he is stalking love letters and appears outside her home on a regular basis. 

The woman has reportedly asked Horace to stop, but she says he has ignored her requests. She also reported that she served a Temporary Protection Order to Horace.

Horace was scheduled for a hearing on June 25. The Pretrial Services Agency (PAS) reported that Horace did not have a GPS device on his ankle as instructed because he reported on June 15 that his ankle monitor was ripped off while he was on a run.

Horace apparently left behind his charger and GPS device while a High Intensity Supervision Program (HISP) employee was preparing to install another device on him.

Horace’s defense attorney, Kevin Irving, stated that Horace does indeed have a GPS device = on his ankle and Horace confirmed that he did by showing his ankle.

The representative from PSA was unaware that he had gotten it replaced.

The prosecution said this was not the only time that Horace violated GPS requirements over the past couple of months. “This is a serious stalking case involving several incidents where the defendant would not leave the victim alone,” the prosecutor said.

Irving noted that the woman has since moved out of the DC area and that GPS requirements are no longer needed at this time. He also noted that Horace is homeless, so charging the GPS is a struggle for him.

District of Columbia Superior Court Judge Heide Herrmann said she did not want to reward bad behavior, but it seemed that keeping Horace on GPS would be punitive and no longer a protection. “I don’t want a person to be set up for failure,” she said.

Just as Judge Herrmann said she would continue the show cause hearing and take Horace off of GPS, Horace interjected and said that he is not homeless and never was.

This came as a surprise to everyone in court. Judge Herrmann said she was no longer taking him off GPS. 

She said that he must report to pretrial services every day until July 2, the date of his next hearing. She said that if he makes one mistake, the judge that will be presiding on that day will take it very seriously.