Marion Barry arrested in D.C. on stalking charges
By: Scott McCabe
Examiner Staff Writer
July 6, 2009
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Former D.C. Mayor Marion Barry on Sunday defended himself against stalking charges brought by U.S. Park Police, saying he was "betrayed" by a woman he had befriended.
But that was swiftly denied by the woman, 40-year-old Donna Watts, who called Barry's account a lie.
The latest legal run-in for the 73-year-old council member was related to an ongoing dispute being investigated by D.C. law enforcement officials in which Barry accused the woman's ex-husband of threatening him, Watts and a law enforcement official said.
Barry's spokeswoman Natalie Williams said Sunday, "Council member Barry is no stalker." She portrayed Watts as a constituent whom Barry helped financially. Echoing Barry's charge that he had been "set up" by a woman in the early 1990s when videotaped smoking crack, his spokeswoman said Barry had been "betrayed" by Watts.
But Watts vigorously disputed Barry's account.
"Every last word is a lie," she told The Examiner.
Watts said she and Barry dated for about a year. She denied that Barry had helped her financially, saying she earned everything that Barry had given her, including a $800 opera coat that the council member won in an auction by CNN's Wolf Blitzer.
The Saturday encounter between Barry and Watts grew out of an ongoing dispute that had led to the ex-mayor accusing Watts' ex-husband of threatening him, the woman said. A law enforcement source confirmed that allegation was under investigation.
Watts said she met with Barry on Saturday to discuss Barry's allegations against her former husband, and the ex-mayor's effort to keep her and her daughter out of the Wilson building where Barry has an office.
She denied that her husband threatened Barry.
"My ex-husband won't come anywhere near, because he knows Barry is trying to get him arrested," she said.
Barry was arrested Saturday night after being pulled over by U.S. Park Police near Anacostia Park. Police said Watts accused him of following her.
After questioning the council member, the officer placed Barry under arrest and took him to the U.S. Park Police station. He was charged with misdemeanor stalking. Barry was released on a citation with a mandatory court appearance in the Superior Court for the District of Columbia. His court appearance will likely be set within the week, said U.S. Park Police Sgt. David Schlosser.
Barry has had numerous run-ins with police, most famously when he was videotaped in an FBI sting smoking crack cocaine in a downtown D.C. hotel. He is heard on that tape saying a woman with him "set me up."
He served six months in prison and in 1994 regained the mayor's office. In May, the former mayor dodged jail time for failing to file his federal and local 2007 tax returns. He was already on probation for failing to file his 1999-2004 returns.
