Fort Meade vice mayor accused of stalking, leaving profanity-laced voicemails

FORT MEADE, Fla. (FOX 13) - The vice mayor of Fort Meade has been accused of stalking another woman, deputies said.

Polk County deputies said they arrested 59-year-old Maurice Nelson Campbell on Tuesday. Investigators said the victim had known the vice mayor for years, but Campbell repeatedly harassed her, and accused her of having an intimate relationship with her husband.

On February 8, detectives with the Polk County Sheriff’s Office said the victim received three phone calls from a number belonging to Campbell’s husband. They said she didn’t answer the first two, which occurred at 4:46 p.m. and 7:13 p.m. The third call came in at 11:55 p.m., and the victim answered. 

Detectives said she recognized the voice on the other end as Campbell, so she hung up. Four minutes later, the victim received three additional phone calls. Then two more from Campbell’s phone at 12:49 a.m. Officials said she didn’t pick up the phone.

The victim turned off her phone for the rest of the night, detectives said. When she woke up, she found three more missed calls from Campbell’s phone, and three voicemails from her, officials said, which occurred in the early morning hours of February 9.

The voicemail messages were released by deputies on Tuesday. They included profanities and a threat to physically harm the victim. In one message, the caller said, "And this is Maurice Campbell, and I approve that (expletive) message, and you can believe that." In another excerpt, Campbell said, "I'll beat your (expletive) (expletive) down, you trifling (expletive), stinking (expletive) (expletive). You rotten (expletive), you rotten (expletive)!"

According to Campbell’s arrest affidavit, the victim contacted law enforcement officials about the harassment in the past, but didn’t pursue criminal charges after Campbell stopped. However, she felt this threat was credible, detectives said, and the consistent harassment caused her “undue stress and anxiety.” 

“She believes that the vice mayor uses her position on the Fort Meade City Commission to intimidate her,” according to a statement by the Polk County Sheriff’s Office.

Campbell was arrested on the aggravated stalking charge.

Polk County detectives said Campbell’s past arrests include an aggravated assault charge in Jacksonville, a shoplifting charge in Orlando, and a failure to appear in court within Orange County.

"The victim has put up with this harassment for quite some time, and she finally reached a breaking point,” Polk County Sheriff Grady Judd said in a statement. “This is not proper behavior for anyone, let alone an elected official. Leaving the voicemails, especially one that sounded like the end of a campaign commercial, wasn't good judgement either."