‘Stalker’ arrested at Harry and Meghan’s home as staff perform citizen’s arrest

2023-05-17

A man accused of being a stalker has been arrested outside Prince Harry and Meghan Markle's luxury Montecito mansion, reports have revealed.

A member of the couple's security team is believed to have spotted the alleged lurker hanging around the entrance to the $15m (£11m) home at around 2am on Monday (May 15) and placed him under citizen's arrest before contacting police.

A spokesperson for the Santa Barbara Sheriff's Office told TMZ they arrested Kevin Garcia Valdovinos at the scene and booked him for misdemeanour stalking.

READ MORE: Harry and Meghan 'in near catastrophic car chase' after awards ceremony

However, the 29-year-old was later released on bail.

While Valdovinos didn't make it onto the property, a comment he made to the security team member prompted them to make the citizen's arrest.

It is unclear whether the Duke and Duchess of Sussex or their children, Archie, four, and Lilibet, one, were at the property at the time of the incident.

Harry and Meghan purchased the luxury home back in 2020 for an eye-watering $14.7m (£11.7m).

Prince William already 'thinking about own coronation' days after King Charles'

A year after they moved in, it was revealed police had been called to the mansion nine times in as many months.

The news comes amid reports the couple had been in a "near catastrophic" car chase after being hounded by "aggressive" paparazzi.

The Sussex duo were travelling from an awards ceremony with Meghan's mum Doria Ragland on Tuesday (May 16) when they were followed for more than two hours, threatening to cause a potentially fatal car crash.

"This relentless pursuit, lasting over two hours, resulted in multiple near collisions involving other drivers on the road, pedestrians and two NYPD (New York Police Department) officers," a spokesperson for the Sussexes said.

"While being a public figure comes with a level of interest from the public, it should never come at the cost of anyone's safety," the spokesperson said.

"Dissemination of these images, given the ways in which they were obtained, encourages a highly intrusive practice that is dangerous to all in involved."

A source close to the Sussexes told royal biographer Omid Scobie the couple and Doria are all "understandably shaken but thankful everyone's safe".

The reported chase happened as the couple were travelling home from the Ms. Foundation for Women's annual gala in New York, their first public appearance since Harry attended the King's Coronation earlier this month.

The lavish award ceremony saw former Suits star Meghan scoop up a Woman of Vision award as she delivered an impassioned acceptance speech encouraging women to fight for equality.

"It's never too late to start," she said.

"You can be the visionary of your own life… There is still so much work to be done."

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