Fort Meade vice mayor arrested on charges of aggravated stalking

The vice mayor of Fort Meade was arrested Tuesday on a charge of aggravated stalking after she was accused of making harassing calls to a friend whom she suspected of having an affair with her husband.

According to the Polk County Sheriff's Office, 59-year-old Maurice Nelson Campbell was arrested following an investigation into the apparent harassing phone calls. The Sheriff's Office said a female victim had previously made complaints to authorities about repeated harassment, but declined to pursue charges because Campbell would stop harassing her.

That changed after a series of phone calls in early February, according to a release from the Sheriff's Office.

Campbell called the woman more than six times from various numbers between the afternoon of Feb. 8 and the early morning hours of Feb. 9, according to the Sheriff's Office. The woman turned her phone off, detectives said, but woke up to multiple missed calls and profanity-laden text messages.

"The victim has put up with this harassment for quite some time, and she finally reached a breaking point," Sheriff Grady Judd said. "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 judgment either."

In the messages, deputies say Campbell is heard stating her name and that she approved the messages like she was ending a commercial. The messages contained repeated threats of physical violence.

The woman, fearing the threats were credible, decided to pursue charges. She said she believes Campbell was using her position on the Fort Meade City Commission to intimidate her.

Campbell was arrested and taken to Polk County Jail. According to the Sheriff's Office, Campbell has previous arrests including aggravated assault with a deadly weapon in Jacksonville, shoplifting in Orlando and petty larceny in Orange County.

Contact Daniel Figueroa IV @ dfigueroa@tampabay.com. Follow @danuscripts.