A man is poised to escape prosecution in a stalking case involving a woman he met at City Fire in The Villages.
Steven De Canio, 51, and the woman went out on a single date, on Dec. 31, 2016, according to an arrest affidavit from the Sumter County Sheriff’s Office. They were mutual acquaintances from City Fire at both Lake Sumter Landing and Brownwood. At the time, De Canio was living with his parents in the Village of Fernandina.
She never gave him her address, but he began showing up – uninvited. He was frequently intoxicated. She would not answer the door, because by this time he had “established a clear pattern of harassment,” the affidavit said.
She began finding cigarette butts near her home, and they were the brand smoked by De Canio. She also found smudges on her windows and sliding glass door, believed to have been left by De Canio when he was trying to peer in through the glass.
Then at 11:23 p.m. Jan. 18, De Canio turned up at a doorstep in the Village of Liberty Park, armed with a large, unsheathed dagger-style knife. The woman’s fiance opened the door. The arrest affidavit said De Canio was “clearly intoxicated” and claimed he had just come to say, “Hello.” He fled to his golf cart and drove away.
She later won an injunction against him.
Earlier this month in Sumter County Court, an attorney representing De Canio negotiated a pre-trial intervention deal that could result in the stalking charge being dismissed.
De Canio must seek substance abuse/psychological evaluation, refrain from consumption of alcohol and will have to submit to screenings for drugs and alcohol.
He must also adhere to the injunction the woman won in court.
If he lives up to the terms of the deal, the charge will be dismissed.
Earlier this year, De Canio was sentenced in connection with a golf cart DUI after a night of drinking at City Fire.
In 2015 in Sumter County Court, he paid a $166 fine for open container and a $116 fine for a parking violation in connection with a March 20, 2015 incident.
In 2014, he was sued in small claims court by Portfolio Recovery Associates.
