A Gainesville man was accused of calling a woman 50 times and telling her coworkers he would come visit their office, Gainesville Police said.
Robert Burton Wetherington, 37, was arrested Friday on a charge of stalking, according to an arrest report. He started messaging the woman in November over Facebook and met her for lunch at Southern Charm Kitchen in early December.
The woman told police the meeting was friendly, the report said. She said after the lunch he began to ask personal questions, but they met again at Depot Park later that month.
After, Wetherington’s attitude changed and he accused her of sleeping with her mentor, the woman told police.
She told him she wasn’t interested in a romantic relationship, police said. After calling her with no answer, Wetherington messaged the woman, saying he was lonely.
“I do not react well to rejection, it causes major impulses,” he wrote her, the report said.
She told police she didn’t give him her personal number and was worried he would come to her house, police said.
He called her office and told coworkers he would show up, according to the report.
He was charged with two counts of harassing phone calls in 2008, but prosecution dismissed the case, according to court records.
He was taken to the Alachua County Jail, where he was released Sunday on a $15,000 bond.
Contact Meryl Kornfield at mkornfield@alligator.org. Follow her on Twitter at @merylkornfield.
Robert Burton Wetherington
