Update!

Miley's Accused Stalker Skates Away From Felony Charges in Plea Deal

Grand jury says not enough evidence to indict Mark McLeod on stalking charges; prosecutor will refile as misdemeanors

By Gina Serpe, Ashley Fultz Oct 29, 2009 3:02 PMTags
Miley Cyrus, Frank McLeodMike Marsland/Getty Images; Chatham County Sheriff's Office

What's a guy gotta do to get indicted these days?

Apparently trailing a Hollywood starlet to her Georgia movie set (and getting arrested twice in the process), calling her his fiancée, telling officers she was communicating to him through secret messages sent through his television set, becoming a paid member of her online fansite, aggregating thousands of pictures and letters to the starlet on his computer and saving up for a diamond ring as the ultimate of symbol of their imagined love isn't cutting it.

Case in point: Just yesterday, a Georgia grand jury refused to indict 53-year-old Mark McLeod on felony stalking charges, saying there was insufficient evidence to show he maliciously targeted Miley Cyrus.

Which isn't to say he won't face any fallout from his way-creepy behavior.

Prosecutors are now moving the case to state court, where he will face misdemeanor charges of obstructing an officer and disorderly conduct. His original charge of attempted stalking will no longer be in play.

"These charges can't stand on land and can't swim in the water," McLeod's clearly folksy lawyer James Byrne said in court. "I challenge them to bring it in state court."

While McLeod remains in jail on $55,200 bond, his attorney has requested that the sum be lowered commensurate with the reduced charges.

"The grand jury showed some common sense, which no one else in this case seems to have, which is there's nothing to these charges," Byrne went on. "He didn't stalk anyone, he didn't threaten anyone. He acted strangely and that's why he's in jail."

But not for long.

Byrne told E! News that McLeod will attend a hearing in state court tomorrow morning and will accept a negotiated plea deal with the assistant district attorney.

Per the deal, McLeod will accept 24 months' probation with three months' credit for time already served; he'll undergo a mental health evaluation and complete any recommended treatment; refrain from contacting either Cyrus or her family; will be banished from Chatham County; and will be prohibited from using a computer for the next two years.

"If the deal is accepted by the judge tomorrow, it will be the end of it," Byrne said.

Meanwhile, the Cyrus camp got some better news this week, when the same group of jurors indicted 22-year-old Sean Christian Mathis, an Army airfield soldier, on charges of felony terroristic threats and misdemeanor disorderly conduct.

Last June, while in the presence of Cyrus' body double for The Last Song, Stephanie Vickers, Mathis said, "Hey, it's Miley Cyrus, I'm going to f--king kill you."

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Don't chance charges—you wanna stalk Miley, we've got everything you could ever want to know about the Disney star. And then a little more. We're thorough like that.