11/30/2006

Harasser pleads guilty

VanDyke

TRAVERSE CITY — A Garfield Township man who telephoned a death threat to Record-Eagle publisher Ann Reed and harassed other newspaper personnel with anonymous calls pleaded guilty to a pair of crimes at his arraignment.

Grand Traverse County prosecutors charged Robert Alfred VanDyke Jr., 46, with two counts of malicious use of a telephone for multiple anonymous, threatening calls to Reed at her Traverse City office.

VanDyke was arrested and arraigned Tuesday and pleaded guilty in district court. He faces up to six months in jail and is set to be sentenced Dec. 18.

VanDyke admitted to Traverse City police Sgt. Joe McCarthy that he waged a lengthy, anonymous telephone harassment campaign against Reed, former Record-Eagle publisher Zeke Fleet, editor Bill Thomas and news editor Mike Tyree.

Police traced a call VanDyke made to Reed to a pay telephone in Grand Traverse County. Several calls to Fleet also were tracked to pay phones in the county.

On Oct. 6, VanDyke called Reed and told her the newspaper was "really out of control and that (Reed) should start thinking about writing her own obituary.”

On previous calls, VanDyke told Reed he knew where she lived and "things were going to get ugly.”

VanDyke told the Record-Eagle on Wednesday that he's "always been a passionate political person” and was angered by the newspaper's coverage of state Sen. Jason Allen, a Traverse City Republican, as well as editorials about President George W. Bush.

VanDyke said he was "going through a period of withdrawal” from Oxycontin, a narcotic prescription painkiller, when he made the calls.

"I just looked at it as a silly prank,” VanDyke said. "I just want to apologize. I just want to get on with my life.”

In June 2005 through early 2006, VanDyke made anonymous, harassing late-night calls to Fleet at his Leelanau County residence. VanDyke told Fleet he knew where he lived and was "watching” him. He also told Fleet to keep looking over his shoulder because Fleet was "going to get what's coming to him.”

In October, VanDyke made an obscenity-laced call to Thomas' office phone and made multiple calls to Tyree's home telephone.

Eventually, authorities traced some of the calls to VanDyke's home telephone. McCarthy confronted him with the evidence this month, including surveillance video that captured images of VanDyke at one of the locations where he made the death threat to Reed.

Leelanau County authorities also may seek charges against VanDyke for calls he made to Fleet's residence.