California man gets sentence in stalking

PORTLAND – A California man was sentenced Wednesday on stalking and firearm charges after he followed his wife and children from California to St. Francis with a gun.

David Lee Bennett, 42, of Big Bear, Calif., was sentenced at U.S. District Court in Portland to 60 months in prison for interstate stalking and 96 months on a firearms charge.

Bennett’s wife took their two children and fled from California to a relative’s home in St. Francis after Bennett’s second conviction for domestic violence against her in January 2002. Bennett was arrested after police found him outside the home and at the children’s school days later. He also turned over a handgun stored with his possessions.

Bennett also received three years of supervised release and a $3,000 fine.