U-M employee arrested twice in the same day for allegedly stalking co-worker
A University of Michigan employee is being held in the Washtenaw County Jail on a $50,000 cash bond for stalking a co-worker, police said Friday.
Sivakumar Natarajan, 30, was arraigned Friday afternoon on one charge of aggravated stalking. U-M Department of Public Safety spokeswoman Diane Brown said he’s been harassing a 22-year-old female co-worker since early November.
Brown said Natarajan and the woman are employees of a lab in a medical science research building. The incident was being handled as an internal human relations matter until the lab director approached police on March 2, Brown said.
Natarajan was first arrested on March 2 and was released pending authorization of charges by the Washtenaw County Prosecutor’s Office, Brown said. The next day he was arrested again as police were informed that he was in the country illegally. However, Immigration and Customs Enforcement informed U-M police that ICE had made a mistake and Natarajan is legally in the country, and police once again released him, Brown said.
On Tuesday, Natarajan was served with a personal protection order, or restraining order, that was supposed to eliminate contact with the victim, Brown said. However, he was arrested Thursday on misdemeanor stalking charges when he again attempted to contact the woman.
Natarajan was released by police because the charges were not a felony or a bench warrant, Brown said. However, he was arrested for a second time Thursday after again allegedly making contact with the woman.
This time, Natarajan was held in the Washtenaw County Jail overnight and prosecutors authorized aggravated stalking charges.
If convicted, Natarajan faces five years in prison and a $10,000 fine. He is due back in court for a hearing on the restraining order violation at 1:30 p.m. on Monday.
A preliminary exam has been set in the felony case for 8:30 a.m. March 21, Brown said.
Kyle Feldscher covers cops and courts for AnnArbor.com. He can be reached at kylefeldscher@annarbor.com or you can follow him on Twitter.
Comments
trespass
Tue, Jun 5, 2012 : 7:49 p.m.
The story is incomplete because the reporter did not find out what the "stalking" behavior consisted of. The commentors are talking as if he "followed" her or had other physical contact with her but the stalking law is most often enforced at UM for "unwanted telephone contacts". He might have called her or sent her a text and that is enough to arrest him. That is not to say that he should not be able to take no for an answer but when the details are known the story may be very different. AA.com went through the same thing on the story about Dr. Weinblatt because the story was very different after the police released details about what really happened. Thus, I will reserve judgement until I get more details and I encourage Kyle to dig a little deeper.
BhavanaJagat
Mon, Mar 12, 2012 : 5:17 p.m.
Health and Well-being : Thanks DJM12652 for your response. I have described the function of 'The Knowing-Self' which gives the person an opportunity to know his own thoughts, feelings, moods, and cravings. This awareness of mental activity helps the person to apply reason to regulate, to direct, and to restrain his/her emotional state or condition before it leads to observable action and behavior. We affect others in our environment and in our community when we act or behave without reviewing our thoughts, feelings, and cravings. All biotic interactions within the human body tend towards maintaining homeostatis, or the stability of the internal condition. In the same manner, 'The Knowing-Self' tends to maintain stability, peace, and tranquility by bringing harmony between various aspects of our mental functions. The intellectual and emotional aspects of mind have to work together to produce harmonious social relations. This young man is apparently qualified and is able to work in the Medical Science Research Building, and I am suggesting as to how this unfortunate event could be prevented. The victim in this case using the same Knowing-Self would have the ability to forgive the person and give him a chance to work towards bringing peace, tranquility, and harmony in his own life and in the lives of others. Unless there is a function called 'The Knowing-Self, man has no ability to either repent, or forgive actions. Whatever may be the consequences for this mishap, I still wish for his well-being and when he repents he may understand that he could have averted this behavior.
aawolve
Sun, Mar 11, 2012 : 11:01 p.m.
That was a brutal read. I see better writing in the forum posts at the University of Phoenix.
JRW
Sun, Mar 11, 2012 : 4:33 p.m.
Where is the photo of Mr. Natarajan?
BhavanaJagat
Sat, Mar 10, 2012 : 7:33 p.m.
SELF AND THE KNOWING-SELF: I am posting this comment to seek the well-being of this young man of Indian origin. We may have something in common as I consider that Mylapore, Madras or Chennai as my birthplace. As a person of Indian Identity, I have an urge to Know my true-self. However, I am not a priest or rabbi. I propose that man is a spiritual being and this is known from the nature of his existence seeking Peace, Harmony, and Tranquility within himself and with others in his environment and community. The actions and behavior of this young man display a lack of that Peace, Harmony, and Tranquility in his external relations. If he understands that man has no choice other than that of existence as a Spiritual Being, he would be able to restore that Peace, Harmony, and Tranquility in his relationship with his external world. Since he has the opportunity to work in a lab that is involved in medical science research, I would like to ask him and others the question; "How does the human body knows its Owner who lives? If the human body knows its Owner, there is a anatomical structure that is associated with the function called The Knowing-Self. We should let the Knowing-Self formulate our external relations to provide that Peace. <a href="http://bhavanajagat.com/2012/03/07/spiritualism-self-and-the-knowing-self/" rel='nofollow'>http://bhavanajagat.com/2012/03/07/spiritualism-self-and-the-knowing-self/</a>
djm12652
Mon, Mar 12, 2012 : 3:51 p.m.
Knowing peace, harmony and tranquility is wonderful, nonetheless, this person is accused of repeatedly comitting a crime against another human...are you saying if he was at peace with himself he would not have been allegedly doing these things or been charged? What about hoping for the well being of this young woman who seeminly has not had much peace or tranquility in her life for 4 months or so...
Sandra Samons
Sat, Mar 10, 2012 : 6:24 p.m.
Does this guy still have his job at "the U"? Is this another example of the U under-reacting to a threat to someone's safety in order to maintain a placid public image? This is my alma mater and I love it, but not blindly! How can so many bright people be so dim?
JRW
Sun, Mar 11, 2012 : 4:34 p.m.
They cover-up anything that might tarnish the almighty UM image.
alan shoemaker
Sat, Mar 10, 2012 : 3:34 p.m.
after reading this i hope he gets the message i did 2 years in prison myself for aggravated stalking because i didnt know what the word no meant good luck dude
actionjackson
Sat, Mar 10, 2012 : 4:24 p.m.
It sound like you understand now. Volunteering information to victims of this behavior may be of some help for a woman in this case. An example of what she can do to get her life together after this episode. Another thing that could help would be what could she have done to dissuade her stalker besides what she already had done.
justcurious
Sat, Mar 10, 2012 : 1:15 p.m.
it would be interesting to hear the young woman's version of how this whole scenario played out over the four month's it was going on. I wonder if she thought her concerns were being taken seriously.
Tru2Blu76
Sat, Mar 10, 2012 : 9:30 a.m.
Sorry Mr. Feldsher, you've written another example of AnnArbor.com's now too familiar ConfusEnglish. From the article, it appears that Mr. Natarajan was arrested FOUR times. The headline focuses on his being arrested twice in the same day - any "explanation" about additional arrests on different days could be clarified in follow up. Hint: when there are repeated reader comments complaining about having to read one article 2 or more times: the fault is NOT with the readers. Time is a river: too bad that Mr. Natarajan apparently navigates it so poorly that he got caught in the Whirlpool of Emotional Obsession. U-M DPS says he's been stalking the victim since early November. But: "The incident was being handled as an internal human relations matter until the lab director approached police on March 2 ..." Tick-Tock, Tick-Tock, U of M. Time is a river: it's appropriate to have a sense of urgency BEFORE the canoe goes over the falls.
ranger007
Sat, Mar 10, 2012 : 3:35 a.m.
Wow...gets arrested the let loose then oh wait we let him out and found out he was in the country ILLEGALLY and how does he get hired by the U of M in the first place?
craigjjs
Sat, Mar 10, 2012 : 10:30 a.m.
The article states that he was released because he was in the country legally. Wow!
momRN
Sat, Mar 10, 2012 : 10:28 a.m.
"However, Immigration and Customs Enforcement informed U-M police that ICE had made a mistake and Natarajan is legally in the country, and police once again released him."
actionjackson
Fri, Mar 9, 2012 : 11:48 p.m.
Sounds like maybe a mental health exam might be in order here. What part of no doesn't a person like this understand? Feel badly for the young woman involved.
craigjjs
Sat, Mar 10, 2012 : 10:32 a.m.
Perhaps he is just a jerk and some punishment is in order here.
LaMusica
Sat, Mar 10, 2012 : 1:18 a.m.
You may be right action...while not all stalking comes from mental illness, a lot of the obsessive behavior can stem from other mental issues. What I want to know is if he is still employed by UM. If they worked in the same lab and she got a restraining order against him, I'm wondering if he just got reassigned, or what? Just removing him from the situation isn't enough. Working together probably means he is familiar with her schedule, so even if they aren't in the same lab together it would still be easy to follow her, which apparently he did. Stalking is very scary and serious and can change your whole life and make you feel trapped wherever you go. I'm glad this woman is taking action and I hope she gets her life back.