Van Nuys Man Gets Jail Time, Probation in Stalking

A Van Nuys man was sentenced Monday to 51 days in jail and three years’ probation after pleading no contest to stalking a Woodland Hills woman.

Jean Pascual Knez, 39, admitted stalking the woman by making telephone calls and leaving sexually explicit material at her door and on her voice mail, a spokesman for the city attorney’s office said.

As a condition of his probation, Knez was also ordered not to attempt any kind of contact with his victim for 10 years and undergo psychological counseling through the West Valley Community Health Center, authorities said.

The 46-year-old victim, whom the city attorney declined to identify, told detectives in the LAPD’s West Valley Division that a mutual friend introduced her and Knez in 1985, asking her to help him find a job. She said she loaned Knez $20 on Thanksgiving 1995, when he showed up on her doorstep claiming to be broke and homeless.

Knez began stalking her about a year ago, city attorney spokesman Mike Qualls said.

On Sept. 14, the victim found a plastic grocery bag hanging from her front doorknob. A second sealed bag was inside. Alarmed, she called police, who summoned the bomb squad.

The bag’s contents included a $20 bill, a John Lennon trading card, a heart-shaped metal locket and sexually explicit notes bearing Knez’s initials, according to Deputy City Atty. Elizabeth Gertz, who handled the case.