BOWIE COUNTY, Texas - A felony stalking charge has been filed in Bowie County against a man for alleged misconduct with a woman he met through an online dating service.
Gregory Clifford Clark, 57, is accused of harassing the woman by sending her menacing messages via email and social media, signing her up for calls from area businesses such as a security company, and by pretending to be other people when he called her work, according to a probable cause affidavit prepared by Bowie County Fire Marshal Scottie Taylor.
Taylor became involved in the case a few months after a fire left the alleged victim's Bowie County home a total loss. State fire investigators were unable to determine the cause of the fire that started in the woman's bedroom the morning of Nov. 6 while she was at work.
"The report stated the investigators called the fire undetermined but could not rule out the criminal act of arson," the affidavit states.
The night before her home burned to the ground, the alleged victim reported receiving an email from Clark which said, "Game over."
Clark allegedly told two clerks at a Texarkana, Arkansas, liquor store at about 9:15 a.m. the morning of the fire that the alleged victim had burned down her own house and killed his dog. The fire was reported at 9:52 a.m., according to the affidavit.
In the months before the fire, Clark allegedly harassed the woman by calling her work and pretending to be a process server who needed to deliver documents to her. Clark allegedly went to a business associated with the woman's residence and pretended to be the owner of a logging business. Clark allegedly told the business owner that the alleged victim had purchased logging equipment from him and he needed personal information about her so he could put a lien on her home.
Software which would allow someone to surreptitiously record sound in any room where it was located was allegedly found on the alleged victim's computer.
Prior to his arrest March 2, a truck reported stolen by a woman in another state who allegedly once had a relationship with Clark was recovered from the property of the alleged victim in Bowie County where Clark allegedly left it. According to Taylor's affidavit, multiple women in multiple states have accused Clark of conduct like that alleged in the Bowie County case.
Clark was arrested March 2 on a charge of felony stalking. He was released March 23 on a $50,000 bond with conditions including a GPS ankle monitor, random drug testing and no contact with the alleged victim.
If found guilty of stalking, Clark faces two to ten years in a Texas prison.