A Hillsborough judge issued an injunction on Wednesday against a Tampa man who’s accused of stalking Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi over the past few months, according to court records.

  • Bondi told judge that William Wilkes, 51, went to her Tampa home twice
  • Wilkes also sent her unsolicited text messages, according to Bondi
  • Wilkes arrested on April 29 for stalking, trespassing

Bondi told the judge that William Wilkes, 51, came to her Tampa home twice and sent her unsolicited text messages. The Florida Attorney General said the first incident happened at 3 a.m. on March 9.
 
“I was home alone. I have a very large dog. He was agitating my dog by tapping on the window, which would have scared any other human being off,” she said. “My dog, in fact, ripped down my wooden blinds. Which has never happened.”   
 
Bondi said Wilkes saw a few people walking down her street and decided to leave as she was calling 911.
 
“He walked to the corner, which frightened me, because he had been wearing a, I guess, a flannel shirt over a gray shirt,” she said. “He had taken off the shirt to change his appearance, folded it neatly down by the street and then when he left picked it back up.”
 
Bondi said the second incident happened on April 22, but this time she had a Florida Highway Patrol trooper on security detail at her home, who arrested Wilkes. The Tampa man was Baker Acted and released a few days later.

Bondi said that’s when the system failed her and Wilkes.
 
“They said he was safe to be released, which clearly he was not,” she said. “They did not notify law enforcement, which they were supposed to do to protect me.”
 
On April 27, Wilkes sent Bondi four text messages that stated, “may we get married soon”, “your (sic) more beautiful than I ever remember – how dat (sic) happen” and “I am in love,” according to an arrest report.
 
“It troubled me, the messages that he sent me,” Bondi said.
 
Judge Christine Vogel asked Wilkes if he would agree to a civil injunction and the defendant responded, “if she don’t want to see me, I don’t want to see her.” Judge Vogel found basis for a final judgment and ordered Wilkes not to have any contact with Bondi.
 
“I understand now why victims don’t want to come to court because you have to see someone who’s been threatening your safety,” Bondi said. “I knew I had to do this. I didn’t want to get an injunction against him, but I have to keep him away from me.”
    
Wilkes was arrested on April 29 for stalking and trespassing. The Tampa man has a $100,000 bond for the stalking charge, but is being held in a Hillsborough jail without bond for violating his pre-trial release conditions on three other charges.

Attorney Keven Hayslett, who’s not connected to the case, said mental issues will likely be raised in Wilkes's criminal defense.
 
“He probably needs to get some mental help, mental counseling,” said Hayslett.  “In the meantime, they’re going to ensure that he doesn’t contact her, because he’ll be in an orange jumpsuit until his case is heard by the judge.”
 
Bondi said she has another stalker, who is out of state, that believes she’s the only one who can remove a chip from his brain. The Florida Attorney General did not want to go into details about that case, stating it’s still under criminal investigation.