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Jury finds Sioux City Man Guilty of Stalking Denison Woman
(Sioux City Journal) – On Thursday, jurors found a Sioux City man guilty of stalking a Denison woman. 50 year old Chance Michaels still faces trial on charges related to confining her in her home and shocking her with a stun gun. At the conclusion of a three-day trial, the jury found Michaels guilty of one count each of stalking and extortion. He was found not guilty of a second count of stalking unauthorized use of GPS and two counts of human trafficking. District Judge James Daane scheduled sentencing for June 7 in Crawford County District Court. Michaels was found guilty of contacting the woman several times through phone calls, text messages, emails and visits to her workplace from March 7-17, 2023, after she had told him numerous times to leave her alone. Michaels used 12 different phone numbers and seven email addresses to contact the woman. He was found not guilty of placing a GPS tracker on her car, threatening to turn her in for violating her probation if she didn't comply with his demands and possessing fake government documents that were in another woman's name but bearing the victim's photo. Michaels is scheduled to stand trial in June in Denison for kidnapping, burglary and other charges for an April 2, 2023, incident with the same woman in which he's accused breaking into her apartment while she was gone, then handcuffing her when she arrived home and shocking her, causing injuries to her neck, back, shoulder and arm. The woman was able to call 911, and dispatchers heard her scream for help before the call was disconnected, according to court documents. Michaels also is scheduled to stand trial in May in Denison for 37 counts of forgery and one count of possession of a controlled substance. Those charges stem from his April 2 arrest after a traffic stop in which officers found him in possession of numerous fake debit and credit cards, driver's licenses and Social Security cards. Officers also found fentanyl inside the car.