A man has been convicted of stalking after he followed a woman around Hampshire in his car.
Hamed Kardani, aged 29, of Coleridge Drive in Whiteley, was found guilty by Magistrates yesterday (Tuesday 4 April).
Southampton Magistrates’ Court heard that on 4 June 2022, Kardani had been driving his Mini Cooper and began following a woman as she was driving in the Swanwick area.
The woman, aged in her 30s, noticed the Mini continuing behind her until she arrived at the Hedge End Marks & Spencer store.
Kardani, who was not known to the woman, parked directly in front of her vehicle in the car park and made eye contact with her, but did not leave his car as the woman went to go shopping.
She noticed this behaviour and felt uneasy. After returning to her vehicle and beginning to leave, Kardani switched on his engine and followed her once more. As a result, the woman took a longer route to leave the car park and was able to initially lose him at a roundabout.
However, the incident didn’t stop there, and Kardani pulled up alongside the woman once again at a set of traffic lights in Swanwick before driving off.
The woman soon returned home to find the Mini pull into her road and slowly drive past her home address, with Kardani looking towards the woman’s driveway.
This entire encounter was distressing for the woman, who subsequently reported it to police.
Fareham Neighbourhoods Policing Team (NPT) launched an investigation, led by PC Matt Jones. Kardani’s behaviour was captured on CCTV and he was later identified and interviewed.
He was subsequently charged with stalking, which he denied before his conviction this week. Kardani was bailed by Southampton Magistrates’ Court to appear at the same court for sentencing on 23 May.
PC Matt Jones said: “Kardani demonstrated a pattern of concerning behaviours in which he continually followed this woman in her car. He pulled up next to her in a car park and waited for her for 20 minutes whilst she shopped.
“The woman in this case quickly picked up on his strange actions and became distressed when Kardani continued to follow her, including turning up outside her home address.
“The fact that the victim in this case had to change her routine and take evasive action to try and get away from Kardani demonstrates just how unacceptable his behaviour was.
“Kardani tried to pass of his encounters with the victim as a coincidence, something which the courts sternly told him was ‘nonsense’ in light of the evidence against him.
“No one should be made to feel the way that the victim was made to feel in this case, and I want our communities to know that we will take robust action against anyone who targets people in this manner.
“We want people to have confidence to report this type of concerning behaviour to us, so if you have been affected please contact police.”
As part of our ongoing work to target perpetrators of violence against women and girls, we have been carrying out regular patrols in areas where problems have been identified to us and where there is high footfall, such as in the night time economy. Officers are being specifically trained to spot concerning behaviours and will actively be challenging these. Where criminal offences are identified, these will be prosecuted.
This training will also ensure officers who are patrolling the night time economy are more effective at identifying people who may be vulnerable on a night out, and to offer safeguarding advice.
