Man arrested for stalking Hingis remains jailed
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Your support makes all the difference.A Croatian man who was arrested in April for stalking tennis star Martina Hingis remains in prison because he refuses to agree to stay away from her for two years.
A Croatian man who was arrested in April for stalking tennis star Martina Hingis remains in prison because he refuses to agree to stay away from her for two years.
Dubravko Rajcevic, 45, was arrested on stalking charges at the Ericsson Open in Key Biscayne, Fla. Rajcevic, who claims he and Hingis have a romantic relationship, is in a Miami-Dade County jail on $2 million bond.
The charges against Rajcevic would be dropped if he agrees to sign an order stating that he will keep away from Hingis, who is playing in the U.S. Open in New York. But he refuses because, "Martina wouldn't want that," he said.
Rajcevic, an engineer who designs boats and is an Australian citizen, constantly followed Hingis and wrote her letters.
When Rajcevic was seen at the Ericsson Open, police told him to leave and warned him not to return. He was arrested March 30 for stalking and trespass after warning, and released on $1,000 bond.
He was arrested again on April 1 and charged with trespassing after warning when he tried to enter the tournament, and remains in custody.
Court-appointed therapists determined Rajcevic is probably schizophrenic and suffering from "fixed delusion." A county judge ruled him competent to stand trial, partly based on a brief, voluntary hospitalization in June.
The trial is set for September 18, but the state requested an extension to allow an appeals court to decide whether Hingis can testify on video or via satellite.
Hingis, 19, declined to testify in person, citing "contractual obligations ... with various corporate sponsors," volunteer work and her tennis schedule, according to an affidavit.
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