Photos via WireImage
Model turnt Actress turnt television host, Tyra Banks is due in court this week to testify against a Georgia man accused of following and harrassing her from Los Angeles to NYC. Banks, photographed above during the “Broadcasting Reality: Show Me The Money!” Luncheon is scheduled to testify in a Manhattan courtroom where Brady Green goes on trial on charges of stalking her.
Green, a resident of Dublin, Ga., is accused of following Banks from coast to coast since January of last year. He was arrested in a McDonald’s near the Manhattan building where “The Tyra Banks Show” is taped after he attempted to see Tyra on March 18, 2008.
According to the criminal complaint filed against Green, he had been stalking Banks since January of the 2008 and had attempted to contact Banks by appearing at both her Los Angeles and NYC studios, making repeated phone calls and sending multiple letters to her workplace and even having flowers delivered to the runway star. At the time of his arrest, he was found carrying a large duffel bag full of magazine clips of the model, along with notes he had written himself that documented several of his attempts to contact Banks.
Banks told the Manhattan District Attorney’s office she was “in fear of physical injury, serious injury or death” as a result of Green’s actions. Shortly after the incident, she was granted a restraining order against him. Green, 38, has pleaded not guilty to stalking, harassment and criminal trespass and faces up to 90 days in jail if convicted by Manhattan Criminal Court Judge James Burke, who is hearing the case without a jury.
Check out a photograph of the accused stalker as well as his defense to the stalking allegations below:
Accused Stalker Brady Green
Green has rejected several non-jail plea deals offered by the prosecution. If he had accepted the plea offers, Banks’ testimony would not have been necessary. Green’s attorney, Sydney O’Hagen said in her opening statement that Green was simply “an overzealous fan who had hoped to be in Banks’ studio audience, meet her and perhaps be a guest on her show”. She also noted that people interviewed on The Tyra Banks Show are not just celebrities, but often ordinary people who have had unusual experiences. Alledgedly, Green, with his harsh, disadvantaged background, had hoped to be on the Tyra show.
In defense, Green’s attorney said he never asked for Banks’ personal information and never claimed they were meant to marry and have children. The things he did, O’Hagen said, “simply do not constitute a crime” and he gave Banks no reason to fear she was in danger.
Assistant District Attorney Shawn McMahon disagreed. He said Green accused an employee of lying when he said he didn’t know where Banks’ show was taping. The defendant told him, “I’m going to find you and slit your throat,” McMahon said.
Judge Burke scheduled the start of Green’s trial after a hearing in which he ruled that most statements the defendant made to police could be used as trial evidence. He will also take into account Banks’ testimony of emotional distress for the harrassment and fear for her physical safety. (Source 1 and 2)
