CLARION, Pa. (EYT) — A Clarion man has been accused of stalking and making terroristic threats through the social media app Snapchat.
According to a criminal complaint released on Monday, November 14, criminal charges against 22-year-old Preston Alan Shumaker have been filed by Clarion Borough Police. The case has been assigned to Magisterial District Judge Duane L. Quinn’s office.
On September 20, a Clarion Borough Police Department detective was contacted by phone by a known female in reference to threats made over social media, according to the complaint.
Upon responding to the victim, she relayed to the detective that she was being harassed via Snapchat and that she took screenshots of the conversation which she provided to the detective. An anonymous account with the username “Clarionman” asked the victim if she was single. When the victim did not respond, “Clarionman” messaged a racial epithet. He also sent a message that said, “Someone wants to get raped This is a man’s world Don’t forget it.” The victim was able to see the location of “Clarionman,” which showed the user was in the same building that the victim lives in. All of these communications were sent to the victim’s Snapchat account, the complaint states.
On October 4, the victim contacted the detective again and told him that she had received new messages from another Snapchat account, “pshumaker1.” The new account continued to harass the victim. The detective obtained photographs of the account and messages for evidence, the complaint indicates.
On October 11, the detective applied for a search warrant and non-disclosure court orders for three Snapchat accounts: “Clarionman,” “pshumaker1,” and the victim’s account. A Clarion County Court of Common Please judge granted the request. The documents were then sent to Snapchat’s law enforcement email address.
According to the complaint, Snapchat responded to the search warrant on October 15 and provided the IP address that was used for both the “Clarionman” and “pshumaker1” accounts. The detective did an Internet search and found that the IP address is owned by Comcast Communications. The detective then requested a search warrant for any and all information pertaining to the IP address starting on September 20. The Comcast warrant was granted on October 26 and was faxed directly to Comcast, the complaint states.
Files provided by Snapchat to the detective included selfie photographs of Preston Alan Shumaker, who the victim had previously mentioned as a suspect. The victim then relayed that she knew of other women who have had problems with Shumaker harrassing them, according to the complaint.
Snapchat records indicated that the “Clarionman” account was created on Sunday, July 10, 2022. The “pshumaker1” account was created on August 28, 2016. Both accounts are associated with email addresses owned by Shumaker, the complaint states.
On November 3, the detective received results back from Comcast providing subscriber information for the IP address. It was assigned to Preston Shumaker. Comcast provided his address, email address, and account number, the complaint notes.
Shumaker’s arraignment is scheduled for Monday, December 5, at 9:00 a.m. in front of Judge Quinn on the
following charges:
– Terroristic Threats w/ Intent To Terrorize Another, Misdemeanor 1
– Stalking — Repeatedly Communicating To Cause Fear, Misdemeanor 1
– Harassment — Communicating Lewd, Threatening Language, Misdemeanor 3
