DENTON — The ad was one of thousands on craigslist: "I am looking for a female lead singer for a new christian band in Denton..."
To "Shelly," a college student who did not want to be identified, the ad stood out, so she set up a meeting at her apartment.
"He said he was in Denton and wanted to call the band the Mean Green Christianers," Shelly said.
But days later, she called off the meeting after receiving a disturbing text message from suspect Jeremy Wicker, asking her what she was going to wear to the audition.
"My heart just kind of creeped a little bit," Shelly said.
Over the next two days, she and her fiance say they received nearly 100 texts from Wicker, including:
- "I want your wife hurt bad..."
- "I'm outside.."
- "I have the apartment number...
- "Don't make me do it..."
"He wanted to hurt me," Shelly said. "[I] just locked myself in, scared of going anywhere."
She went online only to discover that Wicker is a registered sex offender. His crime: Online solicitation of a minor.
Hours after his arrest, Wicker wanted to talk to News 8. He admits to sending the text messages.
"I got upset because when she said she didn't want to audition," Wicker said.
He said the messages were harmless. "I was not going to do anything to hurt her," Wicker said. "I was not going to do anything to harm her."
Wicker said he has Asperger's syndrome, a form of autism, and is not taking any medication.
But out of the 116 registered sex offenders in Denton, police detectives said Wicker worried them.
"Could he have hurt her? Could he have raped her? Yes," said police spokesman Ryan Grelle. "Could he have really gone through with his threat of killing her like he said he was? Yes. We are just glad that he didn't."
It's a warning for all to be careful with any online transaction
"My guard was down," Shelly said. "I trusted someone I shouldn't. I caution everyone to be more cautious."
Wicker has more than six charges of harassment on his record. On one Web site, bloggers have warned others about his alleged behavior.
Wicker is now facing harassment and terroristic threat charges. He is expected to be arraigned on Friday.
E-mail mdiaz@wfaa.com
