BREVARD COUNTY, Fla. – UPDATE: Patrick Landy accepted a plea agreement in June 2020. He pleaded no contest to a first-degree misdemeanor of stalking and was adjudicated guilty. He will serve one year of probation.
Original story below:
A Former Brevard County prosecutor is accused of aggravated stalking and extortion, according to court records.
Patrick Landy, 28, made his first appearance before a judge Thursday afternoon at the Brevard County Jail.
He is accused of sending threatening messages on social media to a woman, according to the arrest report.
According to a report read out loud during his court appearance, prosecutors claim Landy tagged the woman in a post on Instagram: "You got him fired because you didn't want to feel uncomfortable. You did not care the impact it had on the office or him. Very selfish. I was all about you. Now you suffer..."
They said it escalated from there in a Facebook message sent to the woman.
"First social media accounts will be hacked, bank accounts will mysteriously start losing money, random packages at your door and random things at your office. You’ll start to see people following you, and your dog will turn up dead, and it goes on," read the representative from the Office of the State Attorney.
Landy's attorney, Michael Bross, argued for 30 minutes, claiming his client was innocent.
"Merely because my client stands before this honorable court, he is still innocent -- at least as far as I know, in the United States in the state of Florida -- until proven guilty," he said.
The judge granted Landy a $60,000 bond, which he posted hours later.
He had no comment for News 6 as he walked out of the Brevard County Jail at around 8:30 p.m. with his head covered with a jacket. Landy worked for the State Attorney’s Office in Brevard County from June of 2017 to January of 2019.
State Attorney’s Office spokesman Todd Brown said his office is asking Gov. Ron DeSantis to appoint another office to prosecute the case.
