Man cleared of stalking Kendall Jenner but convicted of trespass

A jury in Los Angeles returned the verdict against Shavaughn McKenzie after a seven-day trial in which Kendall described her fear at finding McKenzie lurking in her driveway and banging on her car window in August.

“I’ve never been so scared in my life,” the 20-year-old told the court, saying she had recognised McKenzie as the same man who twice accosted her while she was driving outside her former home.

Kendall said his refusal to leave her Hollywood Hills property prompted her to make panicked calls to friends for help.

“I definitely don’t feel safe in my own house any more,” she said during her evidence.

A defence lawyer had urged jurors to reject the stalking charge, saying there was no evidence showing McKenzie intended to cause Jenner fear.

McKenzie is to be sentenced on November 10 on the trespassing charge. He could face up to six months in jail, but will probably be released because of credits for good behaviour.

His lawyer Taylor Shramo said he hopes to secure mental health treatment for McKenzie, a Florida native who travelled from Georgia to Los Angeles last year and started hanging around outside Jenner’s former home.

The verdict marks the second time this year that a Los Angeles jury has rejected a stalking case involving a celebrity.

In February, a jury acquitted an Ohio man of stalking Gwyneth Paltrow after deciding he did not intend to cause her fear by repeatedly sending letters to her.

In the Jenner case, prosecutor Alex Perez said in court that McKenzie, 25, had tracked Kendall’s whereabouts for 15 months before his arrest.

He noted that McKenzie has never said how he learned that Kendall had moved to the hilltop home tucked away from the street and accessible only after driving through a 13-foot gate.

Perez said McKenzie followed Kendall’s car on to the property and only left after she backed out of the driveway and three of her friends arrived to detain McKenzie until police arrived.

He said he was disappointed by the verdict and hoped McKenzie would receive treatment.

Shramo urged jurors earlier on Monday to reject the case, saying McKenzie merely wanted to talk to Kendall and posed no danger to her. He accused Perez of emphasising Kendall’s celebrity status to try to gain a conviction.

“He wants you to be star-struck,” Shramo said.

The incident has caused Kendall distress as she pursues a modelling career and appears on her family’s show, Keeping Up With The Kardashians, Perez said

“She doesn’t want to be surrounded by security,” the prosecutor added. “And she certainly doesn’t want to be stalked.”

A forensic psychiatrist hired to evaluate McKenzie said he was delusional and his efforts to locate Kendall were part of his mental illness.

McKenzie’s mother June Osavio told jurors she repeatedly tried to get help for her son, but he refused to take his medication. He disappeared in March 2015 after they moved to Georgia, she said.

Kendall is the younger sister of Kim Kardashian West. In court, Kendall shyly recounted her career, which has included a cover photo for Vogue magazine and modelling for top fashion lines.