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MPR News Staff

Man pleads guilty to stalking The Current's Mary Lucia

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Patrick Henry Kelly
Patrick Henry Kelly pleaded guilty to stalking Mary Lucia.
Hennepin County Jail via KARE 11

Patrick Henry Kelly pleaded guilty Monday to charges of felony stalking and making terroristic threats after he violated restraining orders to keep away from Twin Cities radio host Mary Lucia.

Kelly, 56, told the court he knew of the July 2014 court order to not go near Lucia, her home in Minneapolis or the St. Paul headquarters of 89.3 The Current, Lucia's radio station, the Hennepin County Attorney's Office said in a statement confirming the guilty plea.

Prosecutors say he left a bottle of wine, candle and note on her front step and a plastic bag with a note in it at her back door, though he said he dropped it over her back fence and denied going into the yard. Kelly, of Minneapolis, also said he left flowers and letters other times in August.

Asked why he knowingly violated court orders, Kelly said, "that was my state of mind," according to the county attorney's office statement.

Lucia in April went on temporary leave from The Current, which is owned by MPR News parent American Public Media.

After Monday's hearing, a second stalking charge was changed to making a terroristic threat. That charge alleged Kelly violated the restraining order by sending LinkedIn requests to two of Lucia's co-workers.

Kelly said after he tried to shut down his account with the social networking site, he was told requests to link to him were sent to the two workers and members of his family that he had not communicated with in years.

Hennepin County District Court Judge William Koch noted similar instances happened to him and Hennepin County Assistant Attorney Dan Allard agreed to change the charge.

Koch ordered Kelly undergo a mental health exam before an Oct. 13 sentencing hearing. The judge also agreed with Allard that Kelly be held without bail.

A statement from American Public Media said Lucia remains on leave and that, "We continue to support her as she takes the time away she needs to heal."