Man sentenced for stalking ex-girlfriend
NORRISTOWN » A Springfield Township man faces several years of court supervision after a jury convicted him of stalking his ex-girlfriend, conduct that included terrorizing her through email and text messages.
Daniel George Talley, 46, of the 200 block of Ulmer Avenue in the Oreland section of Springfield, was sentenced in Montgomery County Court to 406 days already served to 23 months in jail on charges of stalking, terroristic threats and harassment in connection with incidents that occurred between May and July 2017.
Common Pleas Court Judge Richard P. Haaz, who presided over the jury trial, also ordered Talley to complete eight years’ probation following parole, for a total of about 10 years of court supervision.
The judge ordered Talley to have no contact with the victim and he is prohibited from possessing firearms.
The jury deliberated 18 hours over three days before reaching its verdict at the trial.
Jurors said they were “hopelessly deadlocked” and unable to reach a verdict on two other charges, simple assault and recklessly endangering another person, which related to a gunshot fired at the victim’s unoccupied vehicle while parked outside her Springfield home on June 20, 2017.
During the trial, Assistant District Attorney Nicholas Beeson argued Talley, after the woman broke off their relationship, repeatedly used anonymous email addresses to send messages that caused the woman “substantial emotional distress.” Beeson described the messages as “every variety of crude, insulting and threatening language that you could ever imagine.”
In court papers, Springfield detectives alleged some of the messages threatened physical violence and in one message there was mention of firearms.
Beeson characterized the victim as “incredibly brave” when she testified during the trial.
On June, 20, 2017, Springfield police received a report that someone had fired a gunshot at the victim’s vehicle while it was parked overnight outside her home. Investigators observed a round hole resembling a bullet hole on the driver’s side of the vehicle.
A witness reported seeing a truck, similar to a 2003 Chevrolet Silverado owned by Talley, in the area at the time the gunshot was heard.
However, defense lawyer Edward Rideout III argued the witness who reported seeing the truck gave varying statements to authorities and therefore her statements and testimony could not be trusted and were not credible. Rideout also pointed out there was no eyewitness to the actual firing of the gunshot.
During the trial, Rideout also argued prosecutors didn’t have sufficient evidence to support the charges and that there were alternative, reasonable explanations for some of the communications.
The investigation determined that most of the messages received by the victim had been sent from anonymous email addresses. Detectives alleged a forensic analysis of Talley’s computer uncovered that he had software, or private Internet applications, installed on his computer that enabled anonymous communication.
Prosecutors alleged Talley used those applications to hide his presence on the Internet and to stalk and harass his victim.