Man Sentenced To 6 Years Prison For Stalking And Abusing Girlfriend In Santa Rosa

Press release from the Sonoma County Government:

May 5, 2021

Santa Rosa, CA – May 5, 2021 – Defendant, Patrick Gilles Murphy, 35 years old of Sebastopol, was sentenced on May 4, 2021 by the Honorable Mark Urioste to serve 6 years in state prison after pleading “no contest” in April of this year to stalking, dissuading a witness by force or threat, and felony domestic battery against his ex-girlfriend.

District Attorney Ravitch stated, “This defendant made life terrifying for the victim in this case. Thankfully, she contacted law enforcement and reported his behavior immediately and continued to report as the behavior escalated. It is fortunate that the victim did not suffer greater physical harm.”

Defendant and the victim dated for roughly six months in 2020 before he began exhibiting increasingly concerning behaviors causing her to distance herself, and ultimately obtain a domestic violence restraining order. Furious with that decision, defendant began to harass, threaten, and physically abuse the victim. The defendant’s abuse included thousands of threatening phone calls and text messages each day. These threats often included threats to harm himself or others if the victim did not comply with his demands, or if she reported his abuse to law enforcement.

Defendant’s behavior escalated to the point where in December 2020 he forced his way into the victim’s locked vehicle and physically abused her and vandalized her vehicle. Later, he attempted to break into her apartment with a pry-bar. Defendant was ultimately arrested and charged with various offenses, including, stalking, dissuading a witness, felony domestic battery, and violating domestic violence restraining orders.

Defendant had a history of domestic violence related law enforcement contacts with separate victims as well as prior felony convictions.

The case was prosecuted by DDA Alex Fisher of the District Attorney’s Office and was assisted by District Attorney Investigators Matthew Stapleton and Dave Linscomb and Victim Advocate Gladys Wheeler. This case was investigated by the Sebastopol Police Department.

This press release was produced by the Sonoma County Government. The views expressed here are the author’s own.