A Eustis man was charged with stalking his soon-to-be ex-wife after admitting to repeatedly contacting her to fix their marriage and placing yard signs outside of her home and work.
A deputy responded to a domestic disturbance at an undisclosed residence in Sorrento at about 1:04 p.m. Sunday, according to an arrest report from the Lake County Sheriff’s Office. A man later identified as 47-year-old Andrew Russel Shook was outside the home where he no longer lives banging on the front door and yelling to the female victim.
Upon arrival, the deputy observed Shook standing on the front porch of the residence. He said he was there to repair his relationship with the victim. They separated in December 2022, but the divorce was not yet finalized. Shook said the home belonged to the victim’s mother. He had no belongings and was only there to communicate, the report said.
Another deputy arrived and interviewed the victim inside the residence, where it was learned that Shook had been calling, texting, emailing, and making signs to place them outside the victim’s work and neighborhood. The victim said she told Shook back in to leave her alone, and she has tried to ignore him ever since. She filed for an injunction of protection against Shook that had been granted but not yet served, the report said.
Shook was detained and placed in the back seat of a patrol vehicle to speak with law enforcement. He said he had previously walked over to the Toyota truck in the driveway and touched the engine to see if it was warm. He believed the truck belonged to the victim’s boyfriend. He also took a picture of the license plate of a flatbed truck in the driveway because he thought the tag was expired. The report noted that Shook called law enforcement at 1:21 a.m. that day to report the tag.
In addition, Shook admitted to placing yard signs in the neighborhood and outside the victim’s work to get her attention, the report said. He said he reached out to her several times recently through calls, texts and emails knowing that she was trying to block his communications all in efforts to fix their marriage.
However, the victim advised that Shook had been increasingly aggressive with trying to communicate with her since she initially told him to stop and then began to ignore him. He recently parked his car on the side of the road on State Road 46 and followed her to work. The victim said she was in fear for her safety and did not want anything to do with Shook, the report said.
While taking Shook to the Lake County Jail, the deputy located two of Shook’s yard signs, the report said. The first stated, “Nobody has ever hurt me as much as you have. I text you things in pain. I am sorry for that, but you left me in limbo knowing I cried for weeks uncontrollably. Couldn’t sleep for days at a time. We need to talk.” The second said, “Call me, we need to talk about the divorce.”
Shook was released from jail after posting $1,000 bond. A court date was set for Sept. 5.
