Stalker confronts Bristol Palin at home

WASILLA — A man traveled from Florida and confronted Bristol Palin in the driveway of her home, according to a criminal complaint filed Monday.

Wasilla police arrested Peter Paul William Ferrero, 25, of Florida, Sunday evening and charged him with first-degree stalking. Palin told police she arrived at her Lake Lucille-area home at about 6 p.m., Sunday to find Ferrero in the driveway, according to an affidavit filed by Wasilla Police Officer Brandon Gray. Palin told Police she recognized Ferrero after he gave his name as “Peter Paul,” because a person by that name had sent her about 1,000 Facebook messages since March, according to the affidavit. Palin warned Ferrero to stop and attempted to break off contact, but Ferrero would use multiple identities to contact her anyway, according to the affidavit.

“She saw Ferrero in the driveway, she told Ferrero to back off several times and he continued to approach her,” the file reads in part. “Palin said she was scared that Ferrero might hurt her so she dropped her stuff, grabbed her son, and ran across the street to call 911.”

Her sister, Willow Palin, also told police a “Peter Paul” had attempted to reach her by phone and social media, “and thought he was in some type of relationship with her,” according to the affidavit.

Police arrested Ferrero about 300 yards from the Palin residence. A search of the Palin residence turned up a grey sweatshirt containing suspected marijuana and rolling papers on the third-story balcony and an iPhone charger and receipt on the ground underneath it, authorities said.

“There were also fingerprints on the door on the third-story balcony which would lead to the master bedroom hallway,” Gray wrote.

Ferrero admitted the sweatshirt was his, but said he’d accidentally thrown it onto the porch after becoming hot while looking for a local bed and breakfast where he planned to stay, according to the affidavit.

“Ferrero said he tried to knock on the front door to get help recovering the sweatshirt but didn’t receive an answer,” the affidavit continues. “Ferrero said he looked through a downstairs window and noticed pictures of Palin’s son so he knew it was her residence.”

Ferrero — whose address is listed as “Homeless” in the complaint — remained in the Mat-Su Pretrial detention facility Thursday afternoon on a $25,000 cash and corporate bond with a $1,500 cash performance.

Ferrero told police he had come to Alaska “to live the Alaskan life,” according to the affidavit.

A Florida court convicted Ferrero of aggravated stalking in February 2009, according to the affidavit.

The Palin family has been the target of stalkers in the past. Two men from, Shawn Christy and his father, Craig Christy, of McAdoo, Pennsylvania, were convicted on charges related to a series of harassing phone calls made to former Governor Sarah Palin and her lawyers. The bizarre series of incidents culminated in a brief trip the younger Christy made to Alaska. The Christys wound up serving time in federal prison.

Media reports indicate that Bristol Palin has a restraining order against Michael Cummings, a 39-year-old Texan who showed up at her parents’ house on her son’s birthday and sent her an engagement ring. The younger Palin got the order in an Anchorage court last year and a Palmer judge extended the order earlier this year.

Contact Brian O’Connor at 352-2269 or brian.oconnor@frontiersman.com.