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Stalking complaint dismissed against McAfee(Associated Press Via Acquire Media NewsEdge) PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — A judge in Oregon dismissed a civil stalking complaint on Friday against an anti-virus software entrepreneur who left Belize to avoid police questioning in a fatal shooting. The temporary protective order against John McAfee was obtained in November by Connor Hyde, property manager of a high-end Portland apartment building where McAfee lived. Hyde claimed the evicted McAfee had threatened him. The complaint was dismissed by Judge Terry Hanson after neither Hyde nor McAfee appeared in court for a hearing on whether a permanent order should be granted. McAfee, 68, moved to Oregon last winter after leaving the Central America nation of Belize, where authorities sought to question him as a person of interest in the fatal shooting of Gregory Faull, a U.S. expatriate who lived near McAfee's home. McAfee has denied any involvement. Hyde said in a November court filing that his involvement with McAfee was limited to nonpayment of rent. He wrote, however, that McAfee accused him of joining with the Faull family and others in a conspiracy against him. "Cooperate FULLY with me, and I guarantee that your name will never come up in any context in any action that I take," McAfee wrote in a Nov. 10 email that Hyde submitted as an exhibit in the case. "If you refuse, or if you continue to lie to me, then I promise you, I will consider you as an integral part of what has happened to me." "You made a poor decision in choosing to be involved in this matter," the email said. "Do not make another poor decision." Hyde wrote in his court filing that he has never been part of a conspiracy and was concerned for his safety because McAfee employs armed bodyguards from a motorcycle club. McAfee told The Associated Press in a November interview he was in Montreal, had left Oregon for good and would not return for Friday's hearing. McAfee said lax security compelled him to leave the apartment building during his lease, and that he had a "severe problem" with Hyde but never threatened him with anything except lawsuits. "He gave keys out to all of his friends, and friends of friends," McAfee said. "People were partying in vacant condos. It's turned into a nightmare ever since the new owners purchased the building." McAfee has led an eccentric life since he sold his stake in the software company named after him in the early 1990s and moved to Belize about four years ago to reduce his taxes. He has dabbled in yoga, ultralight aircraft and the production of herbal medications. Copyright 2014 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. |