Last week, a man obsessed with Taylor Swift robbed a bank and tried to propose marriage to her. It didn’t work out the way that he’d planned.
This new stalker and new incident, however, are much more alarming.
A man has been arrested after allegedly trying to break into Taylor’s home. He was masked, he wore gloves, and he was in possession of ammunition, a knife, and rope.
TMZ reports that a stalker was arrested at Taylor Swift’s Beverly Hills mansion while trying to break in.
The man, 38-year-old Julius Sandrock, had apparently traveled all the way from Colorado to attempt this.
While it might be easy to dismiss as a harebrained scheme that was doomed to fail from the start, there are some alarming details.
Security spotted a suspicious man and called the police.
Police arrested Sandrock for felony stalking after searching his person and his vehicle.
What they found during their search had them seriously concerned for Taylor’s safety and about the stalker’s intentions.
Taylor’s most recent stalker told police that he had thrown stolen money over a fence in a ludicrous effort to impress her.
Julius Sandrock brought … other things.
When police found Sandrock, he was wearing rubber gloves and a mask.
It was the supplies that he had stashed in his car that makes this story so scary.
In his car, police allegedly found an empty gun holster, live rounds of ammunition, latex gloves, black gloves, a knife, various masks, black rope, prescription medication, and “psychologist paperwork.”
Based upon what they had found and after Sandrock admitted to them that he owns multiple firearms, police sought and were granted a temporary firearms restraining order against him.
According to court documents acquired by the New York Daily News, Sandrock was released from police custody on Tuesday.
Court documents reveal that Sandrock has struggled with his mental health.
“Respondent told arresting officers that he suffers from severe depression, bipolar disorder, obsessive compulsive disorder, and manic episodes.”
The medications found in his vehicle were oxycodone and the anti-depressant fluoxetine. The latter is better known as Prozac.
It is not immediately clear if the powerful painkiller medication oxycodone is something that Sandrock should have been taking or if it was intended for Taylor.
Sandrock is already on probation for disorderly conduct and discharging a firearm in Colorado.
He has a follow-up court appearance to extend the restraining order on May 9.
We know that some may feel tempted to laugh at this series of events.
Taylor wasn’t hurt, or even there.
The idea of multiple men who are fixated on her traveling across state lines while on ill-fated missions to meet her is farcical. Particularly given that she was not at either home at the time.
And then you have the reminder that Taylor Swift owns many, many homes.
Some fans are reminded of stories of paranoid dictators and crime lords who quietly move between residences because they fear assassination.
But Taylor isn’t a dictator (though she’d be a great one) and she isn’t a crime lord. She’s a young woman who shares her music to bring joy to millions of fans.
She doesn’t deserve to be endangered, and stalkers are dangerous.
Taylor had a bank-robber throw money at her Rhode Island home last week.
This week, a many carrying worrisome paraphernalia was arrested attempting to break into her Beverly Hills home.
Additionally, Taylor’s security had to call the police when a man named Justin Lilly apparently refused to leave her Beverly Hills property.
Lilly’s actions may have been incidental rather than targeted at Taylor, as he is believed to be homeless.
Regardless, this has to be scary. We hope that Taylor is safe and secure … at whichever house she is currently inhabiting.