Man Who Made 'Romeo and Juliet' Threat, Sentenced for Stalking Ex-Wife

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A Gwinnett man, who once threatened his ex-wife that only a “Romeo and Juliet” scenario would get her out of the relationship, was once again convicted of aggravated stalking, the district attorney’s office said Friday.

Prosecutors said he stalked and harassed his ex-wife for years.

Eugenio Arturo Hervey, who had previously served prison time for the same offense, was found guilty by a Gwinnett jury this week and sentenced to 20 years. He also must pay a $5,000 fine and adhere to a permanent protective order restraining him from contact with he ex-wife and their children.

The district attorney’s office said the couple divorced in 2006, “but Hervey warned the victim that only a ‘Romeo and Juliet’ scenario would allow her to be free of him.”

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Hervey was previously sentenced for aggravated stalking in 2009 to five years in prison, 12 months of work release and ordered to have no contact with his ex-wife. Hervey was accused of breaking into her home, sending offensive letters to her employer and threatened to take the couple’s children away to Panama.

On weekend visits with their father, the children testified at the time that Hervey constantly questioned them about their mother’s relationships and beat them with a belt when he didn’t like their answers. The ex-wife obtained a protective order in 2007, but Hervey continued stalking her.

“The victim began to move from one safe house to another and secured a permanent protective order barring Hervey from contact with her, her residence, her workplace or the children’s school,” the district attorney’s office said in a news release. “Within days, Hervey violated this order and was convicted by a jury in 2009 of Aggravated Stalking, and sentenced to serve five years in prison. Once Hervey paroled in 2012, the victim knew that a court order would not stop Hervey.”

Hervey returned to Gwinnett after his release. The woman left her home to stay at different places overnight and moved her primary office from Norcross to Buford, the district attorney’s office said.

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Still, Hervey followed the victim from place to place. Within months of Hervey’s parole, a neighbor recognized him sitting in a vehicle outside of the victim’s residence. A coworker of the victim testified that Hervey began to attend parenting classes at the Norcross center where the victim’s primary office had been, and that he inquired about the victim and her employment there.

When Hervey could not make personal contact, he brought lawsuits causing a sheriff’s deputy to serve the victim at her job seven times and pay a lawyer to defend herself. At every subsequent hearing, Hervey’s motions were dismissed as duplicative, meritless or for Hervey’s failure to appear altogether.

After all the testimony and evidence was presented, the jury found Hervey guilty this week of two counts of aggravated stalking.

(Photo: Eugenio Arturo Hervey. Gwinnett County Jail mug shot)