DeKalb state rep says man is ‘aggressively’ stalking her.

The following article was published in the Atlanta Journal Constitution May 1, 2018, by Joshua Sharpe, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. To read this article on their site, click the Atlanta-Journal-Constitution link above

State Rep. Dar’shun Kendrick, the Lithonia Democrat, says a man continues to stalk her despite repeated attempts to get him to stop.

She filed in DeKalb County for a restraining order against Ivory Rucker, saying he first began contacting her in 2010. He eventually stopped pursuing her, but started again last February, according to the filing obtained by The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.

Channel 2 Action News reported Tuesday that the situation came to a head during a confrontation at Stone Mountain Inn and Suites. 

The alleged stalker’s sister, Angela, told Channel 2 that her brother, 52, is mentally ill and obsessed with elected officials. The sister claims Ivory Rucker was assaulted at the hotel by Kendrick’s brother and boyfriend, though a police report contradicts that. 

In the report, Ivory Rucker is quoted saying he was not assaulted. Kendrick said her boyfriend and brother only confronted the man about his repeated attempts to contact the official.

“He’s left 23 voice messages in one day,” Kendrick told Channel 2. “He called and said he just got out of a Texas mental institution and he was coming to Georgia to find me.” 

In the approved temporary protective order filing, the rep said Rucker was arrested by Capitol Police last March after allegedly harassing her, but he got out of jail and the charges were later dropped. 

In October, he became “more aggressive than ever,” she said, and he was subsequently arrested by Capitol Police again. He was released again, only to be arrested at the hotel last month.

He is now in custody of Capitol Police, Channel 2 reported.

“I just hope we can come to a solution about how to legally keep him in jail,” Kendrick said.