NEW YORK - Tyra Banks can sleep a little easier tonight. The man who told police he and the model "had a thing together" was convicted Thursday of stalking Banks.
Brady Green, 39, of Dublin, Ga., was convicted by Manhattan Criminal Court Judge James Burke, who heard the case without a jury, of stalking, harassment, criminal trespass and attempted aggravated harassment. Green faces as many as 90 days in jail when he is sentenced on June 18. His lawyer said an appeal is planned.
Banks testified that she feared for her safety, and for that of her staff and family. Authorities said Green, 39, repeatedly called Banks' studio, showed up there, and sent her flowers and letters. Green was arrested March 18, 2008, at a McDonald's restaurant near Banks' studio in the Chelsea neighborhood of Manhattan.
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Brady Green, who is accused of following Tyra Banks from coast to coast, sending her flowers and trying to call her, must stay away from the talk show host or face jail.
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Banks said she was about to leave the studio that day when her staff warned her about Green. She said they had previously shown her Green's photograph, told her he had threatened one of her employees and was "somebody I should watch out for."
The former Sports Illustrated cover girl said she told officers at the scene that she was scared.
"I didn't know what to do. How do I live my life when I leave this building? I had never experienced anything like this before," she said.
'Three's Company' star Joyce DeWitt was arrested for allegedly driving under the influence on the Fourth of July in California.
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Jamie McCarthy, WireImage
Calm and smiling frequently as she testified, Banks said security "has changed significantly" around her and her workplaces because of Green. She said that her company has hired more security staff and that her studio audiences are vetted more thoroughly.
Banks said she is now followed everywhere by security guards, even when she runs and exercises outdoors. Even though she is a public person, "I don't live that kind of sheltered, protected life," she said. "I like to walk around."
Green testified that Banks' shows on racism and homelessness had moved him and he wanted to contact her. He said his attempts to get tickets for her show had been misunderstood. He also said he never threatened Banks, never intended to scare her and never tried to date her.
Assistant District Attorney Sean McMahon got Green to admit that he rode a bus for four days from Los Angeles to New York, where he had no friends, relatives and no job, and that the first he thing he did was go to the building that houses Banks' studio.
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