Man puts tracker on car of woman he met online, then cuts power to her home, US cops say

A Pennsylvania man is suspected of cutting power to the home of a woman he met on a dating website in a “disturbing” pattern of stalking, police said.

Matthew Bustin, 33, of King of Prussia, turned himself in to police on June 1 on charges of burglary, criminal trespassing, stalking, and harassment, according to a June 3 news release from the Bensalem Township Police Department.

Court records did not include attorney information for Bustin.

On April 16, a woman told police that she returned from vacation and found that someone “turned off all of the circuit breakers in her home and manually unscrewed the Internet connection from the wall”, according to police.

Police said detectives then found a GPS tracking device on the woman’s car with account information connected to Bustin.

The device had been transmitting data since April 5, police said.

The victim told police she met Bustin on a dating website but ended their relationship after a few meetings because “she felt uncomfortable” with his “odd behaviour”, according to police.

Authorities said the woman “blocked him on social media, but he continued to text her and show up unexpectedly”.

Surveillance video from the woman’s workplace shows Bustin approaching the victim’s car and reaching underneath it, according to police.

Location data from Bustin’s cellphone showed that he was around the victim’s home or workplace “on at least 9 occasions without her knowledge after she ended the relationship”, including the time her utility provider confirmed her power was turned off while she was on vacation, police said.

“This behaviour is disturbing,” Bensalem police said.

Bustin was booked at Bucks County Correctional Facility on 10% of US$2mil (RM9.39mil) bail, police said.

King of Prussia is about a 20-mile drive northwest from Philadelphia. – The Charlotte Observer/Tribune News Service