McDonald pleads guilty to stalking charge

Nathaniel Ryan McDonald pleaded guilty to a single count of stalking in Lincoln County District Court on Nov. 16 for allegedly planting an electronic monitoring device in his estranged wife’s home over the summer.

McDonald, 35, initially pleaded not guilty. He changed his plea after reaching a deal with prosecutors. Under the terms of the deal, prosecutors will recommend he receive a deferred four-year sentence for the felony charge. He must also pay a $500 fine.

Stalking carries a maximum punishment of five years in state prison and a $10,000 fine.

Lincoln County Sheriff’s Office deputies recovered the device after responding to a potential temporary order of protection violation in Troy on Sept. 15. McDonald’s wife, who has separated from him, told Deputy Jacob Winslow that she found a recording device under her dresser.

She found it, according to court documents, after she heard a voice speaking through it while removing her undergarments.

The victim turned the device, which she had smashed, over to authorities. Winslow described it as a small, black camera lens mounted on a stand. A charger and memory card were included, he wrote in an affidavit. The victim had broken the device beyond use.

She told authorities that it was the second such device she had found in her home. She did not report the first incident because “it was hard to turn him in” after 20 years of marriage, according to the affidavit.

The victim also told authorities that McDonald comes by most evenings despite the temporary order of protection. She accused him of breaking into the home in the past even after she barricaded the doors and changed the locks, court documents said.

In his affidavit, Winslow recounted that the victim told him McDonald was a “highly functioning meth user,” and used the drug for the previous two years.

Winslow and Deputy Steve Short subsequently checked the victim’s bedroom. They did not find any other devices, according to court documents. Winslow noted that the original location of the camera — as described by the victim — seemed to give it a view of the bed.

Winslow also recorded a string of messages McDonald allegedly sent via text and Facebook Messenger since the discovery of the device. They accused the victim of lying, calling the authorities and telling her that it was still his property, among other messages, court documents said.

The victim told investigators that the weekend prior, she had awoken at 3 a.m. to McDonald bursting into the house. When she asked him what he was doing, McDonald allegedly told her he thought he heard a bear, court documents said.

Winslow concluded in his affidavit that McDonald likely heard a noise through the electronic device.

McDonald’s sentencing hearing is scheduled for Dec. 21.