April 29, 2016
McKinney, Texas – Jitender Singh, 32, of Los Angeles, California, received 17 years in prison for Burglary of a Habitation and 2 years for fraudulent use of information, announced Collin County District Attorney Greg Willis. “The jury put an end to this victim’s decade long stalking nightmare,” added Willis.
Singh first met the victim while they both attended college in Delhi, India. Though merely classmates, Singh asked the victim to marry him in 2006. After she refused his proposal in 2006, Singh began following the victim home and threatened the victim with violence until she graduated in 2007. When the victim moved to New York to attend school in 2007, Singh continued harassing her, and even assaulted her father in India. Prosecuted and convicted for the harassment, threats and assault in India, Singh appealed and signed an affidavit agreeing to stay away from the victim in order to continue his studies in the United States.
Once in the US, Singh sought but was denied admission to the university where the victim was enrolled. That university obtained a criminal trespass order prohibiting Singh from its campus. During the victim’s internship in California, Singh followed her and located her new address. He went to her residence demanding to see her, and when she refused, he stated, “You can’t hide from me, I will always find you.” Upon the victim’s return to New York to finish school, the harassment continued. An IT company hired the victim, who moved to Plano in 2011. Between 2011 and 2014, Singh harassed the victim through phone calls and other electronic means.
In 2014, Singh located the victim’s address in Plano by falsely creating a credit monitoring service account in her name. While the victim was away, Singh traveled to Plano and broke into her home by convincing a locksmith to unlock her door. Singh took her passport, social security card, and other documents as well as several pieces of her jewelry. A suspicious neighbor called 911 and Plano PD officer Michael Weaver and others located Singh in the parking lot of the victim’s apartment with her property. Detective Brenda Speaker led the fraud investigation.
The jury convicted Singh of Burglary of Habitation and sentenced him to 17 years, out of a possible 20, and assessed a $4,000 fine. The jury also convicted Singh of Fraudulent Possession or Use of Identifying Information and sentenced him to the maximum sentence of 2 years. The case was prosecuted by Assistant Criminal District Attorneys Ashley Briggs and Cynthia Walker. They were aided by District Attorney Investigator Jared Clark. Retired District Judge Richard Davis presided over the case.
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