Trial for Mel's stalker
2004-12-03 10:31
Los Angeles - A 34-year-old drifter was ordered to stand trial for allegedly stalking Mel Gibson.
Superior Court Judge Leland Harris ruled on Thursday that there was enough evidence to try Zack Sinclair on a felony count of stalking. The defendant remained in jail on $500 000 bail pending a December 16 arraignment.
A call to Gibson's publicist seeking comment was not immediately returned.
Sinclair was arrested in September for stalking the actor-director. He allegedly went to the gate of Gibson's Malibu estate repeatedly that month after evading neighbourhood security and asked to pray with the actor.
Sinclair was rearrested on October 7 after allegedly violating a court order to stay away from Gibson and his family.
In a court filing, Gibson said the man also interrupted his worship on September 19 at a chapel and "demanded that I pray with him" before the filmmaker's bodyguard escorted him out.
Sinclair is also suspected of sending letters to Gibson and his family in which he recounted his prayers for the actor, cited biblical verse and praised Gibson's movie The Passion of the Christ.
- AP