A Belleview man was arrested on a warrant Tuesday for stalking and intimidation after allegedly pouring pancake syrup into his ex-girlfriend’s gas tank.
A deputy responded to the Village of Ocala East Mobile Home Park, located at 711 NE 77th St., Ocala, regarding criminal mischief on Sept. 10, according to an arrest report from the Marion County Sheriff’s Office. The ex-girlfriend of 28-year-old Edward James Giles believed he poured pancake syrup into her vehicle’s gas tank.
She explained that an unknown number texted her, “Enjoy the pancake syrup in your gas tank and in your oil of your car ROFL (rolling on the floor laughing).” Giles, who she had dated for 11 years and shared two kids with, was the only person she could think of that would mess with her vehicle. She did not know when the syrup was put in her gas tank, but she got the text earlier that day, the report said.
The deputy did indeed see a sticky substance in the gas tank hole and noted it smelled like syrup in the arrest report.
The ex-girlfriend’s brother added the vehicle was parked behind their residence on the street at the landlord’s request. There had already been issues with the car prior to the syrup being added, making it undrivable, but they would have to drop the gas tank to clean it out, the report said.
Another deputy subsequently met Giles at his residence, located at 6950 SE 124th Ln., Belleview. He stated he had not left his house because his tag had expired. However, a computer check of the tag revealed he had been about 10 minutes away from the mobile home park three days prior to the syrup incident, the report said.
A few days later on Sept. 15, the ex-girlfriend shared more texts from another unknown number with deputies. One of these messages threatened to slice the neck of a man she used to talk to in Oct. 2024, the report said.
The harassment continued into October as Giles called the Department of Children and Families on the ex-girlfriend multiple times. He did not use any new phone numbers, instead calling blocked or spoofing other family members’ numbers. He also started texting her family from his real phone numbers. He did not threaten them but constantly contacted them, the report said.
During this timeframe, several other cases sprung up. The ex-girlfriend’s brother reported Giles for harassment due to getting many blocked calls in the middle of the night. He believed Giles was contacting him due to him helping the ex-girlfriend. Giles had also been arrested on a warrant on Oct. 9 for trespassing at the ex-girlfriend’s residence back in September, the report said.
The deputy ultimately submitted a subpoena on the phone number that admitted to pouring syrup in the ex-girlfriend’s gas tank. All the information, including the email address, phone number, IP addresses and billing information traced back to Giles, the report said.
Giles was later arrested at his residence Tuesday evening on a warrant charging him with stalking (follow/harass/cyberstalk another), criminal mischief (damage property $200-$1,000), intimidation (written/electronic threat to kill or harm) and use two-way communication device to facilitate felony. He was transported to Marion County Jail to be held without bond.