Ariana Grande’s stalker pleads guilty, facing more than 3 years in prison
A man accused of harassing and terrorizing Ariana Grande has pleaded guilty to a series of stalking charges, officials announced.
Aharon Zebulun Israel Brown was convicted Thursday on charges of stalking, residential burglary and making criminal threats against the 30-year-old pop star in California, TMZ reports. Santa Barbara County District Attorney John Savrnoch said he planned to ask that Brown be handed three years and eights months in state prison, but he will not be formally sentenced until May.
After his time behind bars, Brown will also be subject to a 10-year restraining order, Savrnoch added.
Between February and September 2021, the 25-year-old stalker broke into Grande’s Hollywood Hills home on 92 different occasions. That includes an incident on Sept. 9 of that year, when he showed up at the singer’s sprawling mansion with a weapon. Armed with a hunting knife, Brown approached Grande’s security team and threatened to kill them and her before police showed up and arrested him.
The following month, the Grammy-winner was granted a five-year restraining order against Brown.
In a written statement to the court, obtained by Rolling Stone, Grande said Brown’s appearances started off slowly, but eventually escalated to the point where he was approaching her home “nearly every day and sometimes multiple times a day.”
“The fact that Mr. Brown has been regularly coming to my home for over six months terrifies me,” she said at the time. “Based on his threats, I am fearful for my safety and for the safety of my family, I fear that absent a restraining order, Mr. Brown will continue to come to my home and attempt to physically harm or murder me or members of my family.”
Brown, however, remained undeterred. He “forcibly entered” Grande’s Montecito home on June 26, 2022, “disabling security systems with a screwdriver, and cutting wires to the alarm and telephone lines,” the district attorney’s office said.
Responding authorities found him hiding in a crawl space inside the residence.
Further investigation revealed Brown’s “extensive efforts” to stalk Grande. They included “online searches related to her personal and professional life, attempts to determine her residence, and strategies to overcome her security measures,” according to the district attorney.
He possessed more than 2,000 images or videos of the “Thank U, Next” singer, Savrnoch added. Brown also sent a series of threatening Instagram messages to Grande in May and June 2022, “expressing interests of harm.”
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