A man suspected of stalking Prince Harry and Meghan Markle was arrested outside the couple’s Montecito, California home early Monday morning.
The security team at the mansion placed the suspected stalker under citizen’s arrest. The incident occurred around 2 am on Monday, May 15, when the security team noticed the alleged stalker, later identified as 29-year-old Kevin Garcia Valdovinos, lurking outside the property. They notified the Santa Barbara Police Department, who then took him into custody.
Police later released Valdovinos on a $2,500 bail after booking him for misdemeanor stalking. The police indicated that this was not the first time he had committed such an offense.
It is unclear whether Harry, Meghan or their kids were at the property at the time of Valdovino’s arrest, as the couple was in New York City on Tuesday night for an event. The couple moved to Montecito in 2020 and purchased the luxurious 18,000-square-foot home on 5.4 acres of land for $14.5 million (£11 million).
Harry and Meghan have had security concerns a few times in the past. Police were called to their mansion nine times in nine months after the property’s alarm system triggered five times. During their interview with Oprah Winfrey, the couple shared their security concerns, revealing that Buckingham Palace had cut them off financially after stepping down as senior royals and moving to North America.
To cover their security expenses, the couple signed lucrative deals with Netflix and Spotify, worth $100 million and $25 million, respectively. Harry’s memoir, “Spare,” which set the record for the fastest-selling non-fiction book on its release date, also earned him $20 million. Despite their wealth, the couple still faces security threats, as demonstrated by the recent arrest of the alleged stalker.
