Grudge-Holding Stalker Put Teacher 'Through Hell' For 14 Years: Police

Riverside, IL - A incident of vandalism to a Riverside Brookfield High School teacher's car quickly unraveled into what Riverside police Chief Thomas Weitzel called one of the most bizarre cases the department has ever handled.

Police arrested Cyrus Chamanara, 36 of Berwyn, on March 4, and he was charged with felony stalking, felony criminal damage to property and misdemeanor criminal trespass to state supported land, according to Riverside police.

The investigation began when a Riverside Brookfield High School teacher called police to the school parking lot off Golf Road, where the windshield wipers and part of the wiper unit had been torn from his car. The teacher told police he's had problems with Chamanara for 14 years, since he testified against Chamanara in court in 2002.

Chamanara was arrested by Berwyn police in 2002 at Heritage Middle School, Riverside police reported. The teacher saw him in the halls after school while the basketball team and cheerleaders practiced, and he called the police. Chamanara was arrested and charged with criminal trespassing on state supported land. The teacher testified in court against him, and Chamanara was convicted, according to Riverside police.

Chamanara was arrested several times between 2002 and 2016 for alleged stalking, harassing and criminal damage in Illinois, Florida and Arizona, police reported, and he was arrested multiple times for incidents involving the teacher.

Police reported Chamanara, on several occasions, threw bricks at the teacher's home and damaged windows at his parents' home. He allegedly followed the teacher and harassed him on the road. In most instances, Chamanara was arrested and charged with misdemeanors for criminal damage or disorderly conduct.

"Simply put, the victim in this case and his family went through hell these past 14 years," Weitzel said in a statement. "We were only able to make a timely arrest due to full cooperation from the victim and the systematic police work done by the first responding officer and thorough follow up investigation.”

After Riverside police arrested Chamanara for the windshield wiper damage, he gave a full written statement that acknowledged the damage. He said he targeted the teacher because he couldn't get a job he wanted as a result of the 2002 arrest and conviction, police reported. He told investigators he stalked the teacher for 14 years and searched for the teacher's personal, financial and employment history on the Internet. He said he sometimes followed the teacher while he was shopping or going to the movies.

Chamanara was wanted on a reckless driving/obstructing court order warrant from Key West, Florida, at the time of his March 4 arrest in Riverside.

His criminal history includes 11 prior arrests in Illinois, and he was also arrested in Florida, Arizona and New York City for charges including theft, damage to property, assault, obstruction of justice, invasion of privacy, aggravated assault, stalking, harassment and traffic offenses, police reported. He was convicted in 2002 in Arizona for stalking and great bodily harm, for which he served five years of felony probation.

In July 2010, Chamanara was arrested in Paradise Valley, Arizona, and he was convicted and sentenced to five years of felony probation for stalking former NBA Phoenix Suns basketball player and coach Jeff Hornacek and his family, according to Riverside police. The case involved felony indictments, such as felony stalking, assault with a deadly weapon and felony criminal damage to property.

Riverside police reported Chamanara held a grudge against Hornacek, a former North Riverside resident, after he was not allowed to participate in a basketball clinic Hornacek hosted several years ago. He is still on probation related to the conviction.

Chamanara is also on probation for an Illinois case, and Riverside police are working with Illinois and Arizona probation departments to have his probation agreements revoked.

Chamanara is currently being held in Cook County jail. His bail was set at $750,000, according to the Cook County Sheriff's Office.

“This case has become stranger and stranger every day." Weitzel said. "I have received phone calls from numerous law enforcement agencies inquiring as to our arrest just within the past week."

Photo courtesy of Riverside police.