Arrest came after alleged break-in at pop singer’s Montecito home
Ariana Grande
The man charged with allegedly stalking pop singer Ariana Grande and allegedly breaking into her Montecito home is scheduled to appear in court Thursday to set a date for his preliminary hearing.
Aharon Zebulon Israel Brown, 24, is charged with three felonies and two misdemeanors in connection with the alleged June 26 break-in at her home which ended in his arrest.
He has pleaded not guilty to the charges, and is being held without bail at the County Jail.
Sheriff’s deputies responded shortly before 8 p.m. to a burglary alarm at a residence on the 200 block of Miramar Avenue in Montecito, according to Raquel Zick, public information officer for the Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Office.
Deputies arrested Mr. Brown on suspicion of stalking, burglary and damaging power lines, all felonies, and misdemeanor allegations of obstruction of a peace officer, violating a court order and tampering with fire-alarm equipment, Ms. Zick said at the time.
Ms. Grande, who celebrated her 29th birthday the same day, was not home at the time. The “Thank U Next” singer reportedly bought her Montecito home in 2020 from Ellen DeGeneres for $6.7 million.
The complaint filed against Mr. Brown charges him with first-degree residential burglary for allegedly breaking into Ms. Grande’s home “with the intent to commit larceny or any felony.”
Prosecutors added a special allegation that this was a serious and violent felony.
Mr. Brown is also charged with allegedly cutting a utility line, a felony, in that he did ‘unlawfully and maliciously take down, remove, injure, obstruct and sever a line, appurtenance and apparatus.”
Prosecutors added a special allegation alleging aggravating factors, in that the alleged crime involved great violence, great bodily injury, threat of great bodily harm “or other acts disclosing a high degree of cruelty, viciousness, or callousness;” that the alleged victim was “particularly vulnerable;” and that the defendant “threatened witnesses, unlawfully prevented or dissuaded witnesses from testifying, suborned perjury, or in any other way illegally interfered with the judicial process.”
Perhaps the most serious felony he’s charged with is stalking, in that between Feb. 1, 2021 and June 26, 2022, the defendant, while the subject of a temporary restraining order, a court order or an injunction prohibiting “following, harassing or threatening JANE DOE, did willfully, maliciously, and repeatedly follow or harass this victim and made a credible threat with the intent that the victim be placed in reasonable fear of death or great bodily injury to himself or herself and his or her immediate family.”
Ms. Grande sought and obtained the restraining order after Mr. Brown reportedly showed up repeatedly at her Los Angeles residence last year, brandishing a weapon and making threatening statements.
He was arrested in September 2021 after he showed up at her LA home with a large hunting knife and threatened her. In an earlier incident, her security team reportedly pepper sprayed him.
Mr. Brown also is charged in the complaint with disobeying a civil harassment restraining order, a misdemeanor, that was issued in Los Angeles County, a misdemeanor.
He is also charged with resisting, obstructing and delaying sheriff’s deputies in the discharge of their duties, a misdemeanor, in connection with the June 26 incident.
Jennifer Karapetian, senior deputy district attorney, declined to discuss any aspect of the case.
For the record, the complaint filed against Mr. Brown does not mention Ms. Grande by name. Instead, it refers to the alleged victim throughout as Jane Doe.
Jennifer Karapetian, senior deputy district attorney, also declined to confirm Jane Doe’s true identity.
“The victim is Jane Doe. That’s all I can say,” said prosecutor Karapetian, supervising deputy district attorney in the department’s Vulnerable Victim’s Unit. “We protect her confidentially just like any other case. Until there is information that is part of the public record or part of court proceedings, the victim’s name is still confidential.”
Mr. Brown’s attorney, Deputy Public Defender Lauren Gartrell, did not respond to a request for comment.
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