VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. — A Virginia Beach man accused of stalking a woman will remain in jail until his next court hearing after a judge denied his request to be sent to a treatment facility.
Watch previous coverage: Virginia Beach man faces new stalking charges for following woman home
Connor Land, 22, had a hearing at Virginia Beach General District Court Friday. His attorney, Kristin Paulding, had sought to have him transferred to a program in Arkansas to treat his autism and compulsion issues. However, the judge ultimately ordered Land to stay in jail.
"I'm disappointed honestly, I know Connor would like to do an intensive treatment program that would specifically help with his autism diagnosis and now he's going to be sitting in jail for several months," Paulding said.
Watch previous coverage: Judge dismisses charge for man who gave child AirTag while working at supermarket
Land was arrested and accused of stalking a woman in April, just 16 days after getting off of probation from a previous charge.
Prosecutors said he followed the woman to a Dollar General, then followed her to her home and knocked on the door, telling her he wanted to be friends.
She told him to leave and called 911. Land is accused of coming back two hours later and knocking on the door again.
The woman called 911 again.
Paulding said Land found a police officer, confessed to what happened and asked the officers his opinion about his actions. Police arrested him two days later.
Paulding acknowledged that Land's behavior was frightening for the women involved but attributed it to his autism.
"I could see why the women in these cases were frightened by his behavior, but his autism really centers around the fact that he doesn't know how to create friendships," Paulding said.
This is not Land's first run-in with the law. In July 2023, he was arrested while working at Wegmans for allegedly giving a 7-year-old girl an AirTag, a tracking device, hidden with stickers. He claimed he was romantically interested in the girl's mother and wanted to find out where they lived and was interested in giving the mom a letter.
Another woman also testified that she obtained a protective order against Land while he was in college after he showed up in her dorm room. Those charges were dismissed.
During the AirTag trial, Land's attorney was able to argue that his actions were a result of his autism, and he was placed on probation.
However, just 16 days after those charges were dismissed, Land was arrested again on the new stalking charges.
Paulding expressed surprise at the level of media attention surrounding Land's case, suggesting there may be a misunderstanding of who he is.
"The negative press and the outrage about these behaviors, it almost seems like Connor has received more press than some clients that I've had who have actually committed very violent assaults, and that's surprising to me because I think there's a misunderstanding of who he is," Paulding said.
Land's next hearing is scheduled for July 10.
