A disturbing case of stalking and blackmail recently unfolded in Lubbock, Texas, leading to the arrest of 21-year-old Kaleb De La Garza. The young man was taken into custody after he stalked his ex-girlfriend, threatened to leak explicit photos of her online, and demanded ransom money to keep them private.
The Stalking Case Unfolds
De La Garza’s harassment of his ex began long before the blackmail attempt. He had already received a criminal trespass warning after trying to force his way into her apartment.
This was followed by a series of unwanted text messages, which led her to file a Title IX complaint with Texas Tech University. Title IX is a federal law that addresses sex-based discrimination, and in this case, it forced De La Garza to stay off the university campus, attending classes remotely.
The Deception and Blackmail Threat
The situation took a dark turn when De La Garza convinced his ex-girlfriend to remove her Title IX complaint. In exchange, he promised to delete explicit photos of her that he had saved on his phone. However, the relief was short-lived.
According to reports from Everything Lubbock, De La Garza later admitted that he had not deleted the photos and instead threatened to release them online unless she paid him money.
The Ransom Plot and Stalking Escalates
Living in San Antonio, De La Garza began driving to Lubbock to collect the ransom money. Before he arrived, his ex-girlfriend, fearing for her safety, decided to stay at a friend’s apartment instead of her own.
When De La Garza arrived in Lubbock and found that her car was not at her apartment, he tracked her down and parked next to her car at her friend’s place.
It didn’t stop there. Every time his ex attempted to leave the apartment, De La Garza allegedly tried to corner her, continuing his intimidating behavior.
De La Garza’s Arrest
De La Garza’s actions finally caught up with him when he attempted to sneak onto the Texas Tech campus, violating the trespass warning still in effect. Authorities were notified, and he was promptly arrested.
In total, Kaleb De La Garza faces multiple serious charges, including:
- Two counts of stalking
- One count of threatening to publish intimate visual material
- One count of criminal trespassing
He is currently being held at the Lubbock County Jail on a bond of $127,500.