Michael J. Arnold being arrested (WRGB screenshot) and his Cessna airplane (WCAX screenshot)
A 65-year-old pilot from New Hampshire previously accused of stalking a woman from his prop plane was arrested again last week in New York after he was allegedly caught on film following the same victim, this time in his car, despite there being an active restraining order against him.
Michael J. Arnold was taken into custody on Thursday and charged with one count of fourth-degree criminal stalking and one count of second-degree criminal contempt, authorities announced.
According to a news release from the Saratoga County Sheriff’s Office, Arnold on Jan. 12 “knowingly and unlawfully waited for and followed a protected party, in violation of an order of protection issued by the Town of Saratoga Court.”
After obtaining an arrest warrant, authorities apprehended Arnold on Feb. 1. He was arraigned and remanded to the Saratoga County Correctional Facility without bond.
While authorities have not identified the “protected party” Arnold was allegedly following, Albany, New York NBC affiliate WNYT confirmed that the alleged victim was Cassie Wilusz, the same woman Arnold is accused of “terrorizing” by repeatedly flying his single-engine plane right above her home.
Wilusz provided the station with footage that appeared to show Arnold driving a maroon sedan slowly around her vehicle near Fort Hardy Park before stopping briefly and pulling away. Authorities reportedly confirmed to WNYT that Arnold owns a maroon Buick sedan that appears to match the vehicle seen in the video.
As previously reported by Law&Crime, Arnold in October was charged with aggravated stalking, impeding, providing false information to a police officer, and resisting arrest in connection to his alleged aerial stalking of Wilusz.
Arnold, who lives in Manchester, New Hampshire, had been served with a temporary restraining order issued by a court in Saratoga, New York, last summer. One of the specific stipulations of the restraining order required that Arnold “cease and desist from flying any and all aircraft while the order remains in effect.”
However, Wilusz contacted the FBI, Bennington, Vermont Police Department, and the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and told them that Arnold was flouting the terms of the court order after she allegedly spotted him flying over her home on Sept. 28, 2022. The FBI then contacted authorities in Bennington and notified them that Arnold was housing his Cessna at the William H. Morse State Airport in the town.
“Officers were able to determine that Arnold was, in fact, flying his airplane from the William H. Morse State Airport and last seen flying west toward New York several days earlier,” authorities said, noting that they had allegedly obtained footage showing him flying over the victim’s home in violation of the restraining order.
Wilusz spoke to the Times Union newspaper about the ordeal earlier this year, saying that Arnold has been harassing her from above for nearly five years.
She said Arnold used to be a customer at the cafe she owns until he allegedly emailed her a photo of himself partially clothed and bound to a bed, several photos of naked women, and talking about how much fun he has “at the nudie resort.” When she rebuffed his advances, he responded by starting the flyovers, Wilusz said.
“He is terrorizing us,” Wilusz told the paper. “He flies so close to the house that it feels like he’s going to go through it. It’s a nightmare that just doesn’t stop.”
Such fly-bys would often occur several times a week as early as 7 a.m., waking up Wilusz and her neighbors and causing their doors and windows to rattle. At least once, Wilusz reportedly claimed that Arnold threw tomatoes at her house from the plane.
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