Stalking charges against Michael Stennett were dropped days after the Cleveland EMT he was accused of menacing for months went missing, then resurfaced at a convenience store in Collinwood.
Lachelle Jordan, 30, reported to Cleveland police being stalked by Stennett and his associates at least three times before she went missing earlier this month.
On May 4, Jordan told police Stennett, 65, "was watching her from his vehicle" when she left the same Fairport Avenue home that morning. As a result, Stennett was charged with one felony count of menacing by stalking and one felony count of violating a protection order while committing a felony. Stennett was being held in the Cuyahoga County Jail on a $100,000 bond.
Those charges were formally dropped at a hearing in Cleveland Municipal Court Thursday morning.
Prosecutors said there were "inconsistencies" in the case.
“A joint motion to reduce the bond was filed because at this point, we have inconsistent evidence to substantiate the stalking complaint against Michael Stennett," said Lexi Bauer with the Cuyahoga County Prosecutor's Office. "Tomorrow, that case will be dismissed and the investigation will continue. Any further charging decisions will be made after a thorough investigation is complete. Numerous law enforcement agencies are involved in the investigation. We decline to comment further at this point.”
Stennett will be released with ankle monitoring.
Jordan went missing on May 6, two days before she was supposed to appear at a pretrial hearing in connection with another criminal case involving Stennett. Stennett was charged with two counts of rape and one count of abduction in May 2022. He is still facing those charges and has a hearing for that case at the end of the month.
Jordan resurfaced at a convenience store in Collinwood just after midnight on May 12. She had a torn and tattered shirt and no shoes as she limped into the Open Pantry convenience store on East 166th and Euclid in East Cleveland, and later told authorities she had been kidnapped.
Police have not released any additional information on Jordan’s disappearance and recovery.
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