“The Hills” Stars Stalker is Out of Jail But Restrained

Audrina Patridge, one of the stars of MTV’s reality show “The Hills,” reported an alledged stalking last month to Los Angeles police. Twenty-four-year-old Zachary Loring appeared at her home numerous times and also gave her a packet of letters and drawings, including an illustration of a woman being strangled.

Loring first appeared at Patridge’s home on August 26 and returned over a period of several days. He was arrested on August 30 and released from custody a day later. A judge subsequently granted Patridge a restraining order against the alleged stalker. However, the order was served to Loring while he was in jail yet again, after being arrested a week later on unrelated charges – two outstanding warrants that were issued when he failed to appear at court-ordered anger management classes.

Loring has since been released again, under the condition that he finishes the classes as ordered. Out of jail, he can now go wherever he likes – as long as it is at least 100 feet away from Patridge.

However, Patridge has had more trouble recently than just Loring. Another man, 18-year-old Nicholas Prugo, was recently arrested on suspicion of burglary, in connection with break-ins at the home of Patridge as well as actress Lindsey Lohan.

Patridge’s attorney has noted that she is traveling temporarily, as she fears for her safety in LA. This may be understandable, as stalking has been a persistent problem in Hollywood. In fact, California was the first state to criminalize stalking in 1990 after a number of high-profile cases. The most well-known of these is the 1989 murder of actress Rebecca Schaeffer by an obsessed fan who stalked her for three years leading up to her untimely death.

Every state now lists stalking as a crime. A government report released earlier this year estimates that approximately 14 out of 1000 adults is a victim of stalking – over 3 million during a 12-month period.