Peninsula Stalking Suspect Who Carved Victim's Name In His Arm Arrested After Continuous Harassment
SAN MATEO COUNTY (CBS SF) -- A man who the San Mateo Sheriff's Office said stalked a San Carlos woman locally and in San Diego since last year and carved her name into his arm was arrested on multiple charges Thursday, authorities said.
The San Mateo County Sheriff's Office posted details about the harassment and arrest on its Twitter account Friday, saying that the suspect also wrote the victim's name in blood outside her home..
According to the San Mateo County Sheriff's Office the suspect, identified as 22-year-old East Palo Alto resident Jonathan Derasacosta, had started a friendship with the victim, a San Carlos resident, while both were still teenagers in 2016.
In 2019, Derasacosta wanted to pursue a romantic relationship with the victim and started harassing and stalking her, leading to a restraining order against the suspect. The victim eventually moved to San Diego to attend college.
Unbeknownst to the victim, Derasacosta followed her to San Diego and continued to stalk her on campus. He was eventually arrested by UC San Diego police on March 30, 2019, for stalking and violating a restraining order.
After being released from jail, Derasacosta did not stop following the victim and continuously ignored the restraining order. On June 3, 2019, Derasacosta was again arrested for stalking the victim in San Diego.
In early 2020, Derasacosta was released from jail due to the COVID pandemic.
The victim had moved back to San Carlos to continue her studies through online courses. Sometime in May 2020, Derasacosta went to the victim's residence and used what appeared to be red substance -- possibly blood -- and wrote the victim's name against a wall.
Authorities also said that Derasacosta had carved the victim's name into his arm.
After gathering evidence and conducting a lengthy investigation, San Mateo County Sheriff's detectives arrested Derasacosta on October 8, 2020. He was booked for stalking, committing a felony while out on bail and ignoring a court order at the Maguire Jail.
Anyone who has information on Derasacosta is asked to contact Detective Josh Wang 650-363-4055 or email jwang@smcgov.org.
