A Navarre woman was put behind bars at Santa Rosa County Jail last week after law enforcement determined she was sending several threatening messages people in the area using a disguised Facebook profile.
Fifty-two-year-old Michelle Powell was arrested last Wednesday and charged with Aggravated Stalking after it was found she was harassing and sending several people in the area threatening messages, including a local woman who the suspect had been harassing over the last two years.
According to the Santa Rosa County Sheriff’s Office arrest report, a woman contacted the local sheriff’s office stating she had been contacted numerous times by someone on Facebook by the name of Chelle Powell since February 23, 2014.
The victim alleged she did not know the woman who was contacting her and that she had been receiving numerous threatening messages from the Facebook user.
According to the arrest report, the victim did not recognize the person who kept trying to contact her and attempted to contact the Facebook user at least once to explain that she did not know her.
The report indicated that despite the victim’s messages to the unknown user, later identified as Powell, the suspect kept sending her threatening messages that started to worry the victim.
According to the arrest report, Powell contacted the victim and stated: “I’m looking 4 ur house right now”, “I will strangle you to death”, “I will scratch your eyeballs out of your head”, “I am watching your house and if I catch him there you’re both dead”.
The report indicated that when Powell tried to contact the victim, she accused the victim in the messages of being a prostitute and running a prostitution ring.
Eventually, Powell allegedly contacted several of the victim’s friends and offered them money if they provided her with the victim’s home address.
The victim in the case told law enforcement she was scared for her life and for her family’s life.
According to the report, the victim was eventually able to ID the Facebook user as someone she used to work with in Ft. Walton Beach. The victim said she used to work as a bartender at the Okaloosa County establishment.
Even after identifying Powell, the victim stated she had no idea why Powell would be threatening her and sending her the messages.
A SRSO deputy eventually made contact with Powell, who denied ever sending messages to the victim. According to the arrest report, Powell stated she had not seen or spoken to the victim since 2011.
Powell eventually told the deputy that she used to be a stripper, and she felt like the victim she was contacting was jealous of her.
The suspect told the deputy that she believed there were several other women she knew that were “jealous of her”, the report stated.
Powell told the deputy that she found out that the victim was allegedly paying a man to have sex with her. A man that Powell admitted she was attracted to.
According to Escambia County Sheriff’s Office Jail View records, Powell was arrested back in December 2013 and charged with Prostitution.
According to the arrest report, there were no prostitution arrests found to have been made on the victim. Only the arrest in 2013 on Powell.
The suspect alleged that there were 150 people that were stalking her on Facebook and harassing her.
Law enforcement eventually ran Powell through their Datashare system and found that there were several reports that have been filed in neighboring areas in reference to Powell harassing or assaulting people in person or on Facebook.
Following their findings, Powell was placed under arrest and booked into Santa Rosa County Jail on $7,500 bond.
She currently has a hold placed on her out of Leon County, Fla., which is keeping her from being released from Santa Rosa County Jail.
Powell has no prior arrest history in Santa Rosa County.
Okaloosa County Jail records show Powell was arrested back in 2015 for Aggravated Stalking and Stalking.
