Ex-Lewisville officer convicted of stalking woman he met on a 911 call
A Denton County jury found former Lewisville police officer Filemon Perez, 34, guilty of stalking a woman he first encountered while responding to a domestic disturbance call in 2024.
Former Lewisville officer convicted of stalking victim he met on duty
A Denton County jury convicted former Lewisville police officer Filemon Perez, 34, of stalking on Thursday, keranews.org reports. Perez had met the victim while responding to a domestic disturbance call in late April 2024.
GPS data from Perez's patrol vehicles, reviewed by retired Lewisville Detective Scott Kelly, showed Perez visited the Somerset Apartments at 256 E. Corporate Drive in Lewisville on 83 separate occasions over a six-month period. On all but one of those visits, a then-Lewisville detective determined, Perez had no legitimate reason to be on the property and neglected his work duties to be there.
To return a guilty verdict on the stalking charge as indicted, jurors had to find that Perez harassed the woman on two or more occasions and that his conduct reasonably caused her to fear bodily injury or death, or to "feel harassed, terrified, intimidated, annoyed, alarmed, abused, tormented, embarrassed, or offended."
First contact and early visits
Perez first met the woman — identified in court records as K.M. and referred to as such by the Denton Record-Chronicle — when Lewisville officers responded to her 911 call reporting a domestic disturbance involving her ex-boyfriend. Officers arrested the ex-boyfriend for burglary of a habitation, a conviction he later received. K.M. testified she recalls Perez remarking that day, "You really know how to pick 'em."
In May 2024, K.M. noticed on Ring doorbell camera footage that Perez had come to her door, though she only realised it when reviewing the footage later. She initially assumed he was there to check on her, follow up on her case, or offer her resources.
In July 2024, Perez came by her apartment again. This time K.M. answered the door. She testified he asked numerous personal questions, including whether she was still in contact with her ex-boyfriend, and that she felt he kept peering around her into the apartment. She began texting friends and family about the encounters, questioning whether her "uneasy" feeling was warranted.
Escalation through the summer
Throughout the summer, K.M. testified, she began seeing a patrol car in her complex at least once or twice a week — always parked near where she habitually left her vehicle. She started parking further away to avoid it.
Around 1:30 a.m. on 23 August 2024, she was taking her dog outside when she saw Perez and ran back to her apartment. At that point, she testified, she could no longer attribute any good intentions to an officer checking on a single mother at such a late hour.
In the early hours of 28 August 2024, K.M. returned to the complex with her young daughter. She saw the Lewisville patrol car in the parking lot, began recording on her phone and placed the phone in her purse. As she stepped out of her vehicle, Perez was there. "Oh, you scared me," she says on the recording. He made small talk, asked again about her ex-boyfriend, and the exchange ended quickly. K.M. testified she remained friendly because she feared what he might say or do. She also testified that Perez appeared surprised her daughter was present and that his demeanour changed when he noticed the toddler. In hindsight, she said, she is glad her daughter was with her.
On 5 November 2024, K.M.'s neighbour told her he had seen Perez at the complex and that the officer had asked about her. Her sister told the jury that K.M. was not the type to dwell on things, but that the situation had come to dominate K.M.'s thoughts and all of their conversations for months.
Defence arguments and additional evidence
Defence attorney Bruce Isaacks acknowledged to the jury that they might not approve of all of Perez's choices, but argued that none of his actions gave K.M. reasonable grounds to believe he would cause her injury or death. Isaacks characterised K.M.'s fears as those of a hyper-vigilant woman who jumped to conclusions because of prior abuse by her ex-boyfriend.
Prosecutor Dustin Gossage countered by seeking permission to inform the jury that Perez had been arrested in November 2024 on suspicion of sexually assaulting a woman while on duty. Gossage argued the case demonstrated that K.M.'s fear of Perez was reasonable, noting it was news reports of that arrest that prompted K.M. to formally report Perez's conduct. Judge Bruce McFarling of the 362nd District Court ruled in Gossage's favour. The jury was informed of the accusation but heard very little detail about the separate case.
When K.M. learned that Perez had allegedly sexually assaulted a young woman who was alone in an apartment complex parking lot late at night, she testified, it validated all of her fears.
Resignation and GPS evidence
Perez had already resigned from the Lewisville Police Department and been arrested in early December 2024 — before K.M. filed her report — meaning his visits to the complex had ceased by the time she came forward. Detective Kelly testified he was able to match every instance K.M. identified as a Perez visit to GPS data pulled from Perez's assigned patrol vehicles.
Perez requested that Judge McFarling, rather than the jury, assess his punishment. Sentencing was expected to take place on Friday.
Source: Google News MT — Crime (en)