Minuteman founder Chris Simcox was being hunted by former Minuteman and bounty hunter Stacey O’Connell, and Simcox thinks he knows why: Because O’Connell is allegedly having an affair with Simcox’s wife, the same wife who accused Simcox of threatening her at gun point.
Alena Simcox was granted a restraining order from her husband in June, after she filed a complaint alleging Simcox had threatened her, her children, and police officers while wielding a gun. The court also ordered that Simcox surrender all of his weapons, but Simcox was reportedly not immediately served with the order.
That’s where O’Connell and his Fugitive Recovery Services bounty hunter firm came in.
O’Connell was kicked out of the anti-immigration Minuteman group for fighting with Simcox, and told TPM in June that Simcox’s ex-wife hired him to track her husband.
In a twist, Simcox wrote in a note on his site “The Simcox Report” that:
Last November, 29th, 2009 my wife admitted to me that she and Mr. O’Connell were engaged in an adulterous romantic affair. Since that time they have engaged in a pattern of devious and malicious conduct including statements of iniquity, to torment me emotionally in an apparent attempt to drive me out of my marriage.
He added that he appeared in court on June 6, and hadn’t been avoiding it, but rather “for the past 60 days I have been residing with a gracious Christian family I know through my church. During that time I have been apprenticing for a new job in a technical field involving water purification systems.”
The note also posts copies of an injunction against harassment that Simcox filed against O’Connell, and text messages Simcox alleges came from O’Connell. One example, supposedly from June 30: “. you know what happens if you dont go to court next week right? thats right, youre f-@$#&. good luck with that.”
The next court hearing is scheduled for August 2.
O’Connell denied the adultery allegations to the Phoenix New Times on Monday, saying “at no time did I threaten or harass him,” adding that, “I’m going to fight it. I hired an attorney to go down and fight it.”
“This is a very dangerous person,” O’Connell said of Simcox.
Jillian Rayfield
Jillian Rayfield is a Reporter/Blogger for TPM, and started as a News Intern in May 2009. She graduated from Cornell University in May 2008 with a degree in Film, and worked as a Research Assistant for a market research firm in London in between.
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