By NEAL WAGNER / Managing Editor

COLUMBIANA – A 30-year-old Alabaster man is facing a felony aggravated stalking charge, and is being held in jail on a higher-than-normal bond after he allegedly ignored a no-contact order on multiple occasions and deliberately “sabotaged” his victim’s employment opportunities.

The Alabaster Police Department arrested Justin Tal Carpenter, who lists an address on Smoke Tree Lane in Alabaster, on Nov. 7 and charged him with one felony count of second-degree aggravated stalking.

The charge is a Class C felony, and is punishable by up to 10 years in prison upon conviction.

According to Carpenter’s arrest warrant, he allegedly continued to make contact with a victim despite an order from Shelby County District Court Judge Bill Bostick barring Carpenter from having contact with the victim.

Between Aug. 6 and Sept. 14, Carpenter allegedly continued to have contact with the victim despite the previous court order barring him from doing so.

“Since that (District Court) order, the defendant repeatedly places the victim … in a state of fear and constant emotional distress, and sabotages and purposefully limits her employment opportunities,” read a request from the Shelby County District Attorney’s Office to set Carpenter’s bond higher than normal. “Defendant has violated a no contact order of the court several times without regard to the consequences, and in some cases, bragging that he is ‘untouchable.’”

The District Attorney’s Office claimed Carpenter contacted the victim through text messages, voicemails and phone calls, and called the victim’s place of employment, and claimed “conviction in this case is incredibly probable” based on the evidence.

The office also claimed Carpenter has made “veiled threats of violence” against the victim, and said the defendant “has been given numerous opportunities to correct his behavior prior to the filing of this charge by several parties: the victim, the Alabaster Police Department and this court.”

As of Nov. 8, Carpenter was being held in the Shelby County Jail on bonds totaling $55,000. He is set to appear in District Court on Nov. 30 for a preliminary hearing.