Man Admits Stalking His Ex-Girlfriend, Using Stun Gun

Greg Hargreaves said he was “just out of control” when he broke into his ex-girlfriend’s Spokane home, attacked her with a stun gun and refused to let her leave last summer.

“I didn’t know what I was doing,” Hargreaves told a Spokane County Superior Court judge on Thursday. “I really feel bad it’s come to this.”

Hargreaves, 28, pleaded guilty to stalking and harassing Laurie Cook, who broke up with him in January after a short relationship. He also pleaded guilty to residential burglary.

Judge Neal Rielly sentenced the former golf caddie to a year in jail but allowed him to serve it in a work-release program. Hargreaves was given credit for nearly five months spent in the Spokane County Jail.

“The sooner we can get Mr. Hargreaves into (counseling) the better,” Rielly said. “These are not the actions of somebody who doesn’t have serious problems.”

Cook declined to comment on the case.

Shortly after their breakup, Hargreaves started to “monitor” Cook’s North Side home by sitting in his car out front and standing outside her windows, deputy prosecutor Dannette Allen said. He continued stalking her even after she filed a protection order against him.

“We had an individual attempting to terminate a relationship and Mr. Hargreaves didn’t get it,” Allen said.

On July 29, Cook returned home to find Hargreaves waiting in her bedroom, where he zapped her with a stun gun on the cheek and neck. During the struggle, Cook bit Hargreaves on the finger and managed to escape.

When police arrested him the next day, Hargreaves said he was upset over the couple’s breakup and “just wanted to talk” to his ex-girlfriend, Allen said.

Hargreaves, a Gonzaga Prep graduate, has “never been in trouble a day in his life,” said his attorney, Maryann Moreno. He has a roofing job lined up and will start going to counseling immediately, she said.

With his eyes down, Hargreaves apologized to Cook in court Thursday.

“There won’t be any other problems, I can guarantee you that,” he said. “I hope you have a really nice life and I’m really sorry.”

, DataTimes