Elderly man will face stalking charges in Superior Court

HARRINGTON — An elderly man previously charged with stalking has recently violated a protection order and is set to return to Lincoln County Superior Court.

Joseph L. Pebles, 74, of Harrington, will appear for a readiness hearing at 10:30 a.m. Tuesday, Aug. 20 on two stalking charges.

Court records show Pebles allegedly placed two Apple AirTags on his estranged spouse, Gwenn Pebles’ vehicle.

According to the Lincoln County Sheriff’s Office, at about 7:54 p.m., deputies were dispatched to a residence in Harrington from Gwenn Pebles, 73, of Harrington.

Reports say she received an alert on her phone and believed she was being tracked. Gwenn said she went to a friend’s house and located two Apple AirTags inside her vehicle.

“Gwenn showed me an Apple AirTag screen that she still had opened,” deputy Christopher Stein said in a probable cause statement. According to Stein, Gwenn located the Apple AirTags under the passenger seat.

“Gwenn said they couldn’t find the AirTags until she pushed the button on the screen that alerted her to them which allowed one of them to make a beeping sound,” Stein said.

According to the Lincoln County Sheriff’s Office, Gwenn upgraded her phone. She changed her number to keep Joseph away from her.

“Gwenn told me that she hopes that the divorce is finalized soon and that she just wants him [Joe] to leave her alone,” said Stein.

According to Stein, contact was made with Apple Law Enforcement to locate the owner of the two Apple AirTags.

Stein states that at 9:15 p.m., he received an email stating that the owner was Joseph Pebles.

“I went to the Sheriff’s Office where I confirmed that there was an active Anti-Harassment Protection Order in place between Joseph and Gwenn, with Joseph as the respondent,” Stein said.

Court records show Superior Court Judge Barkdull signed the order June 21, 2024.

Stein observed Joseph driving slowly by the Sheriff’s Office as if looking for someone while walking to his patrol car to look for him.

“It should be noted that the Apple AirTags were still sitting in the front seat of my patrol car,” said Stein.

Joseph was detained and booked into the Lincoln County Jail on Monday, July 1, at 6:17 a.m.