Tyra banks to testify at alleged stalker's NYC trial
By SAMUEL MAULL
Model-turned-television personality Tyra Banks is due in court this week to testify against a Georgia man accused of following her from one side of the country to another.
Banks, host of TV's "America's Next Top Model," is to testify in a Manhattan courtroom where Brady Green goes on trial on charges of stalking her.
Green, 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 tried to see her on March 18, 2008.
Green told police then, "I know her. She knows me. We're good friends." He said he "came by bus (from Los Angeles) to see her."
"We had a thing together," court papers quote Green as telling police. "I sent her flowers. I sent her cards. Should I plead no contest? I've got satellites watching me and recording us."
Green, 38, has pleaded not guilty to stalking, harassment and criminal trespass. He faces up to 90 days in jail if convicted by Manhattan Criminal Court Judge James Burke, who is hearing the case without a jury.
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 and he would not have seen her in court.
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.
Banks, 35, has to appear in court to testify she was alarmed and feared for her physical safety. This emotional distress is an element of the criminal charges against Green.
A criminal complaint filed when Green was arrested says building custodian Edward Troiano told police the defendant also had appeared at Banks' Los Angeles studio "on multiple occasions" and asked to speak to her.
The complaint says Troiano reported Green had sent letters and flowers to Banks there and had tried to reach her there by telephone at least five times. Troiano also might testify at Green's trial.
Copyright © 2009 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. The information contained in the AP News report may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without the prior written authority of The Associated Press.
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