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MURRAY — A Murray man was charged Monday with stalking and threatening his LDS bishop for a year and purposely killing his lawn after an interview to get into BYU-Idaho went wrong.
Curtis M. Davies, 30, was charged in 3rd District Court with criminal mischief, a second-degree felony; stalking, a class A misdemeanor; and threat of violence, a class B misdemeanor.
During a meeting Davies had with the bishop of his LDS singles ward regarding his application to BYU-Idaho, "Davies became very angry, violent, and a minor physical altercation occurred," according to charging documents.
After that, beginning in January of 2016, the bishop began receiving "threats of violence towards him and his wife" from Davies through text messages and social media, the charges state.
In August, prosecutors say Davies sprayed an unknown chemical on the bishop's lawn, causing it to die. Damage was estimated at more than $6,700. Davies also made a post on his Facebook page that he "wanted to burn (the bishop) and (the bishop's) daughter alive," according to the charges.
Many posts on Davies' Facebook page between 2011 and November of 2016 have either been deleted or are blocked from public view.
Police say the stalking continued until Dec. 4, 2016. On Dec. 5 — the same day court records show that the bishop filed a civil stalking injunction against Davies — a post was made on Davies' Facebook page in which he allegedly calls himself a "stain on society."
On Dec. 7, Davies made several ranting posts on his Facebook page against The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. The posts include renouncing his church membership and claiming his was assaulted by his bishop.
