Man Faces Felony Harassment Charges Stemming from Birchwood Townhomes Fire Investigation

A 26-year-old Byron man faces a felony-level stalking charge following an investigation into a fire July 13 at the

Matthew Lee Peck was charged with stalking—pattern of harassing conduct on Nov. 3 by the for allegedly sending his ex-girlfriend—and mother of his child—dozens of threatening text messages over a 17-month period.

Felony stalking is punishable by up to 10 years in prison and a $20,000 fine.

According to a criminal complaint filed last week:

Investigators believe the . 

During the course of that arson investigation, Peck’s ex-girlfriend—a resident of the —told police she had been the “victim of fairly extensive pattern" of harassment/stalking behavior.

According to police records, the woman has filed numerous reports with the Stillwater police department detailing “disturbing, upsetting and unwanted text messages” from an unknown sender over the past 17 months.

Initially, the messages, which began in March 2010 and continued through July, were sent using the handle, Imwatching@ueverywhere.lol, the complaint states. Police believe the messages were later sent from an anonymous Hotmail account.

During that time, the woman would receive a number of text messages over a period of days or weeks, and then the messages would “fall off for months at a time,” the complaint states. The messages would then start up again and the pattern would continue.

The text messages referred to the sender knowing everything the woman does—including any calls, texts or Facebook activity, the complaint states. The messages also stated that the sender knew her routine, when her kids went to daycare and threatened to send people after her, break into her house and stated that the sender will “get you.”

On July 12, the day before the fire, the woman received 16 text messages, the complaint states. Those messages were disguised as messages being sent from email addresses and phone numbers of her friends and neighbors at the townhome complex, the complaint states.

The texts were generated through a website called Textem.net, the complaint states. The phone number used to enter the messages into that site were registered to the woman’s current cell phone, but were sent from an IP address in Hastings—where’s Peck’s cousin lived.

Police contacted Peck’s cousin in Hastings who told police that Peck had been living at the Hastings residence.

Police then tracked Peck down at his mother’s home in Byron and confronted him with the Textem.net activities, the complaint states. Peck told police that he didn’t believe his cousin knew how to contact his ex-girlfriend, but he refused to speak with police about Textem.net. Police then seized Peck’s computer for a forensic investigation.

The forensic investigation found a number of Textem.net-based messages, the complaint states. Several of the messages were sent directly from Peck’s phone, but were later forwarded to his ex-girlfriend’s phone. Other messages, according to police, were sent from a fake hotmail account found on the Peck’s computer.

“This case was significantly investigated,” First Assistant Washington County Attorney Steve Povolny said. “A lot of time and elbow grease went into it and the police and other investigating agencies gave us good facts to work with. That’s not saying they’re done with it.”

Arson charges have not been filed against anyone in relation to the fire, and that case remains under investigation.