A three-week relationship in Palm Coast allegedly spiraled into account hacking, workplace confrontations, threats and the theft of a memorial teddy bear containing a child’s ashes. A 31-year-old man is now jailed on six felony counts after investigators say he also took medically necessary insulin belonging to his former girlfriend.
Justin Andrew Fountain was arrested Saturday by the Flagler County Sheriff’s Office after deputies located his gray Nissan Altima traveling northbound on Interstate 95 near the county line, according to Tampa Free Press. He faces charges including malicious threats, cyberstalking, unauthorized access to an electronic device and using a tracking application to facilitate stalking. Fountain remains held at the Flagler County Inmate Facility on a $61,000 bond and has not entered a plea.
Breakup Allegedly Turned Into Digital And In-Person Harassment
According to arrest affidavits, the woman met Fountain through Facebook Dating and ended the relationship three days before reporting the alleged harassment on Saturday evening. She had initially allowed him to stay in her Red Roof Plus hotel room while she looked for permanent housing, but revoked that permission after finding smoking pipes and learning he had used crack cocaine in the bathroom.
Investigators say Fountain later accessed the woman’s Apple and iCloud accounts, along with her Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat and other personal accounts. He allegedly posted her photos, messaged relatives and friends while impersonating her, and tried to isolate her from people around her. The allegations also include appearances at her workplace, The Windsor in Palm Coast, and at a Culver’s restaurant, where police say he caused a scene after approaching her and a male friend.
Memorial Bear Became The Center Of The Threats
When the woman returned to her hotel room, she reportedly found the door open, the room in disarray and several belongings missing, according to the Tampa Free Press account. One missing item was a plush memorial bear with a zippered compartment holding a small urn containing her late son’s cremated remains; her insulin was also allegedly gone, even though she needed it that evening.
While the woman was at the police station, Fountain allegedly sent threatening messages to her and her friend, including a photo of the bear beside the woman’s damaged car. Investigators also reported repeated Apple Find My alerts from the woman’s phone, which officers placed in a signal-blocking metal container to prevent further remote access. One message allegedly warned, “I will not go away peacefully,” before threatening to make every day of her life a living hell.
Florida Law Treats Unauthorized Tracking And Account Access Seriously
Florida’s stalking statute defines cyberstalking to include accessing another person’s online accounts without permission, and repeated stalking or cyberstalking paired with a credible threat can constitute aggravated stalking, a third-degree felony, according to the Florida Senate’s published statute. A separate state law makes unauthorized use of a tracking device or tracking application a third-degree felony, with a potential second-degree felony charge when the technology is used to facilitate a dangerous crime.
Florida’s computer-crime statute also prohibits knowingly accessing an electronic device without authorization and generally classifies that conduct as a third-degree felony, subject to statutory exceptions and aggravating factors, the Florida Senate explains. Those laws provide the legal framework for the accusations, but the arrest affidavit allegations are not findings of guilt and prosecutors still must prove the charges in court.
A Broader Pattern Of Tech-Fueled Relationship Harassment
The Palm Coast case is separate from a recent Volusia County investigation covered in Hoodline’s DeLand report, in which a former deputy was accused of hiding AirTags on an ex-girlfriend’s vehicle and her adult daughter’s car. Separately, the Flagler County Sheriff’s Office announced in July that another man had been arrested after investigators traced thousands of harassing calls and messages to him, a case that also involved the agency’s Cyber Crimes Unit.
