Stalking charges filed against former City Councilman

Editor’s Note: This story originally aired Friday, December 29 on ABC 17 News at 6.

Misdemeanor stalking charges were filed against former Columbia city councilman Daryl Dudley in early December. A warrant was served Friday.

The exact nature of Dudley’s relationship with the victim was redacted in court documents, but she said it started back in March 2016. She went to police several times after she allegedly kept getting letters with money in them and flowers from Dudley.

She also claimed he texted her and drove by her house while she was walking her dog.

She said he’s never threatened her, but she felt so uneasy that she sought an order of protection against him.

This isn’t Dudley’s first run-in with the law. He was cited in 2012 for selling alcoholic beverages to a minor while he was serving as a city councilman.

It happened when he was managing the HyVee gas station off West Broadway.

Police claim he asked to see identification, but still sold the alcohol.

Dudley also faced difficulties trying to run for fourth ward in 2016. He suspended his campaign less than a month before the April elections.

He apparently failed to report about $60,000 in donations within the required 48 hours. He was later fined by the state that summer, after he only received about 35 percent of the vote.