Lawyer says accused Kendall Jenner stalker meant her no harm
LOS ANGELES (AP) – The defense lawyer for a man charged with stalking Kendall Jenner urged jurors not to be star struck by the model and reality television star and acquit his client, who he said posed her no harm.
Attorney Taylor Shramo said a prosecutor had not proven Shavaughn McKenzie maliciously intended to cause Jenner fear when he followed her into the driveway of her secluded Hollywood Hills home in August.
He said McKenzie, a 25-year-old transient from Florida, simply wanted to talk to Jenner and never threatened her. Shramo displayed numerous statements from McKenzie to police in which he told them he simply wanted to talk to her and he considered her a friend.
Jenner testified last week that she did not know McKenzie and was terrified when she saw him standing in her driveway after she returned home the night of Aug. 14. A prosecutor said McKenzie tried repeatedly over a 15-month period to meet Jenner, including twice running to her car outside her former residence.
Shramo acknowledged Jenner was terrified of his client, but said that wasn’t enough for jurors to convict him of stalking and trespassing charges. He accused Deputy City Attorney Alex Perez of trying to play up Jenner’s celebrity status to gain a conviction.
“He wants you to be star struck,” Shramo said.
Perez rejected Shramo’s accusations, telling jurors Jenner’s celebrity status was a factor in the case because he had been diagnosed with a delusional disorder in which he fixated on Jenner because she is famous.
McKenzie faces up to a year in jail if convicted of the stalking charge. A jury of seven women and five men will deliberate the case.
Jenner is the younger sister of Kim Kardashian West and appears regularly on the family’s reality series, “Keeping Up With the Kardashians.” She has a fashion line with her sister, Kylie Jenner, and has modeled for top fashion lines and appeared on the cover of Vogue magazine.