March 11--A Berwyn man with a lengthy criminal record has been charged with stalking a west suburban teacher whom he had been targeting since 2002, police said.
In what Riverside police Chief Thomas Weitzel called "one of the most bizarre cases" the village's police department has handled, Cyrus Chamanara, 36, was charged last week with felony stalking, felony criminal damage to property and misdemeanor criminal trespass to state-supported land, according to a police department news release.
"(Chamanara), by his own admission, for the last 14 years methodically stalked the victim in the Riverside case and not only harassed the victim but his family," Weitzel said. "Simply put, the victim in this case and his family went through hell these past 14 years."
Chamanara has been arrested several times in four states since 2002 for stalking, harassing, criminal damage and other crimes, police said.
In the most recent case, he allegedly vandalized the victim's 2013 Jeep Wrangler in the Riverside Brookfield High School parking lot on Feb. 29, according to the news release. Police said Chamanara tore off the windshield wipers and the metal plates that held the wipers in place.
The victim told police he has had problems for the last 14 years with an individual whom he had testified against in court in 2002. Police learned the suspect had numerous arrests from 2002 to the present including stalking, harassing and criminal damage that had taken place in Illinois, Florida and Arizona, according to the release.
In 2002, Chamanara was arrested for trespassing at a school in Berwyn during basketball and female cheerleading practice. The teacher confronted him and later testified against him in court, where he was convicted.
Chamanara told police after his recent arrest that it was that incident that prompted him to continue stalking the teacher because the 2002 arrest had prevented him from getting a job, police said.
According to the news release, Chamanara told investigators that over the next 14 years he stalked the victim including searching for him on the Internet searches so he could learn about his employment, personal life and financial history. In addition, he followed the victim from time to time in his car when he would go shopping and to other events such movies.
On several occasions, he threw bricks through windows of the victim's Chicago home, police said. He also followed the victim in his car harassing him on the roadway. In each case, Chamanara was arrested and charged, usually with misdemeanors ranging from criminal damage to property to disorderly conduct, police said.
In the most recent case, Riverside police arrested him March 4 when he left his residence in the 6900 block of Riverside Drive in Berwyn. While in custody, he gave a statement admitting to the damage that had occurred at Riverside Brookfield High School, police said.
At the time of his arrest in Berwyn, Chamanara was also wanted on a reckless driving/obstructing court order warrant out Key West, Fla. He was on probation for convictions in Arizona and Illinois. He has been arrested over the years for theft, damage to property, assault, obstruction of justice, invasion of privacy, aggravated assault, stalking, harassment and traffic offenses, police said.
Chamanara is being held on $750,000 bail at the Cook County jail, police said. No one at the high school was in danger at the time of the alleged incident involving the teacher's vehicle, police said.
