ANCHORAGE, Alaska — A 25-year-old Florida man accused of stalking Bristol Palin in Alaska after inundating her with Facebook messages is under arrest.
Peter P.W. Ferrero is charged with felony stalking in connection with a Sunday encounter with Palin, the 23-year-old daughter of former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin, who was the 2008 GOP vice presidential candidate.
According to an affidavit filed by Wasilla police officer Brandon Gray, Bristol Palin arrived at her Wasilla home Sunday evening and encountered Ferrero in the driveway. Palin, who is also known for her appearance on a reality show and ABC’s “Dancing with the Stars,” had her 5-year-old son, Tripp, with her at the time.
Gray wrote that Ferrero told Palin his name was Peter Paul. Palin told the officer she recognized the name because Ferrero has sent her about 1,000 Facebook messages since March.
“Palin later said that when Ferrero was sending her the Facebook messages, she told him to stop and blocked him, but he kept using new identities to send her messages,” Gray wrote.
Palin also stated she told Ferrero to back off in the driveway, but he continued to approach her. She was scared and grabbed her son then called 911 from across the street, the affidavit states.
Palin and her sister, Willow, filed civil protective orders against Ferrero on Monday.
Ferrero is represented by the Alaska Public Defender Agency, which had not yet assigned the case to an attorney Tuesday. He was being held at the Mat-Su Pretrial Facility in Palmer.
Palin family attorney John Tiemessen said Tuesday that the family “appreciates the efforts of the Wasilla PD and the district attorney’s office and are fully cooperating with the investigation.”
In his affidavit, Gray said a sweatshirt was found on the third story balcony on the back of Bristol Palin’s home, along with a small amount of what appeared to be marijuana and rolling papers. Ferrero said the items were his and that he accidentally threw the sweatshirt on the balcony after he became hot while looking for a nearby bed-and-breakfast where he intended to stay, Gray stated.
Ferrero said he climbed up to the balcony and tried to open a door there, but it was locked, Gray stated.
According to the affidavit, Ferrero climbed down from the balcony after he heard a vehicle in the driveway. He told the officer he wanted 10 minutes of Palin’s time, and that he had been following a blog she created in June.
Ferrero also said he had called Willow Palin several times. The 20-year-old woman was at the scene Sunday with her sister and said Ferrero thought he was in “some type of relationship with her,” the court document states.
The affidavit says Ferrero was convicted of aggravated stalking in 2009 in connection with a Gainesville, Florida, case. Ferrero left Florida on Sept. 3 and arrived in Alaska the same day, according to the court document.
Alaska Dispatch News first reported the arrest.
The Palins have faced issues with stalkers before.
In 2012 a Pennsylvania man Shawn Christy, and his father, Craig Christy, pleaded guilty to federal charges of harassing Sarah Palin’s Alaska attorneys by phone. They were sentenced to time served and five years’ probation.
Shawn Christy had been accused of stalking Sarah Palin.
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