Palm Beach Gardens (Florida): A man was
charged with stalking Serena Williams after police said they
caught him trying to enter the tennis star`s gated
neighborhood.
Palm Beach Gardens police said 40-year-old Patenema
Ouedraogo told officers he was going to Williams` home Monday
night "because he loves her" and "he knows the feelings are
reciprocal."
A lawyer for the 13-time Grand Slam singles champion said
he had recently obtained a restraining order after Ouedraogo
tried three times to contact the player.
Police said neighbourhood security guards stopped
Ouedraogo as he walked in several minutes after Williams`
sister, Venus, returned home.
The guards had been alerted to call police if they saw
someone of Ouedraogo`s description.
According to the police report, Serena Williams` lawyer,
Malcolm Cunningham, got a restraining order to keep Ouedraogo
away from Williams after he followed her to a meeting with her
agent in Los Angeles in October.
Cunningham told police Ouedraogo also posed as Williams`
assistant while she was at the Home Shopping Network in Tampa,
Florida, this year, gaining access to her dressing room before
he was escorted from the building.
Ouedraogo also followed Williams to a radio interview in
Florida last month, the lawyer said.
Palm Beach Gardens Police said Ouedraogo told them he
knew Williams` whereabouts because he followed her on Twitter.
Williams hasn`t played a top-level match since winning
last year`s Wimbledon title. She cut her right foot on broken
glass last July and needed two operations, then suffered a
dangerous blood clot in her lung.
She and her sister made a public appearance in Washington
last Thursday, serving as instructors at a Washington youth
tennis clinic.
Bureau Report
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