Where's the line between being neighborly and stalking?

A swanky building with a rooftop pool,the Yale Steam Laundry Lofts on New York Avenue NW would seem to be a relaxing place to live, but perhaps not if you believe you're being watched.

Yale residents Vance Thompson and Rachelle Nigro have settled a civil complaint filed earlier this month, in which Thompson accused Nigro (who happens to be a commissioner for ANC 2C04) of "stalking" him, by taking pictures and video of him while he was "working out in the gym and while laying out at the pool."

Nigro's attorney, Hardy Vieux, says nothing seedy was going on. Nigro is a former condo board member and was just trying "to document possible violations of the condo rules" when she started pointing her lens at Thompson, he says. The lawyer wouldn't say which rules Nigro thought Thompson had broken. Thompson is the condo board's current president. Phone calls to Thompson weren't returned.

Nigro never faced criminal charges for stalking, but settled the suit on July 11 by agreeing not to collect images of Thompson in the future.

Photo by Sadie Hernandez via Flickr/Creative Commons Attribution 2.0

According to three sources familiar with the closed-door meeting to discuss the ramifications of Marion Barry's July 4 arrest, the councilmember apologized to his colleagues. He even made sure to apologize to Councilmember Jim Graham, who was late to the meeting.

One councilmember says that Barry confessed his love for the District and said that he was sorry that he hurt the council. "It really, really seemed heartfelt," the councilmember says. "His colleagues were pretty damn pissed off at him."

"He apologized to all the members," says another source. The source added that Barry almost cried during his mea culpa.

But Barry was clear about who he would not apologize to: the public.

At least one source did not walk away satisfied with the simple "I'm sorry." "What concerns me the most is the misuse of public funds," they told City Desk. "That's a crime. He got involved romantically and then hired them. It raises some very serious allegations... I hope that Marion appreciates that it's in his interest to [cooperate with the independent investigation]."

*Additional reporting by Mike DeBonis. Photo by Darrow Montgomery.

Chenille Spencer, once a regular ladyfriend of Marion Barry's—and a regular with him at Player's Lounge—described her connection to Barry in 2006 as "loyal." She remains so. In a phone call to Washington City Paper to "speak on the the police and the way Mr. Barry was treated," Spencer defended her former flame and current friend.

"Mr. Barry is like a tree and all of us are the branches and leaves," she says. "I am just one of the apples that never fell off." Donna Watts-Brighthaupt, the woman at the center of the latest Barry scandal, "needs to know that she has to accept certain things. She will never be able to have a public dinner with him....She needs to accept the fact that Mr. Barry is loved by reverends, bishops, friends, me....You'll never have him all to yourself."

But in speaking of Watts-Brighthaupt, Spencer got off track after prefacing her comments with: "I have nothing to say about Donna whatsoever."

Her main concern, she says, is how Barry was treated by the U.S. Park Police, who arrested and booked him for stalking Watts-Brighthaupt on the night of July 4. (The charge was later dropped by the U.S. Attorney's Office.) "When he came home from jail, he did not have any shoestrings [in his shoes]. They still have his car. They still have his cell phone....It's been a major inconvenience for him."

The ex-mayor and Ward 8 councilmember was detained for "well over an hour" and did not get home until 4:30 a.m., she says. "They took it too far. It was jut a simple domestic dispute," Spencer continues.

Watts-Brighthaupt didn't understand that and didn't understand Barry. "When you're with that man, you want him all to yourself," she says, but that's not how it is going to be. "That's just his personality."

Spencer signed off with a label previously given to her—"arm candy"—and a final message for Watts-Brighthaupt: "Tell her to come correct or don't come at all. We want a drama-free life. Believe me she is going to be scrutinized."

*Reported by Mike DeBonis. Photograph by Darrow Montgomery.

Last night, the U.S. Attorney's Office announced that it would not pursue the stalking charge against Councilmember Marion Barry. The charge stems from a July 4 incident in which Barry allegedly sought out ex-girlfriend Donna Watts-Brighthaupt in Anacostia Park. Watts-Brighthaupt was with her ex-husband Delonta Brighthaupt at the time Barry was pulled over by U.S. Park Police.

Brighthaupt is disappointed that prosecutors dropped the stalking charge against the councilmember. "They could have taken it to court to hear all sides," he tells City Desk. "I don’t like to see anybody locked up, but I’d like to see justice pursued.”

Brighthaupt says that night Barry re-entered his ex-girlfriend's home and continued to wait around for a while. Watts-Brighthaupt's neighbors confirm his account.

Neighbors interviewed say that Barry sat on Watts-Brighthaupt's front porch for a half hour. "I think I did see him that night sitting there on the porch," recalls George Dempsey, 83. "Just sitting."

Another neighbor of Watts-Brighthaupt's, Delorus Brown, 31, says she watched Barry go into his ex-girlfriend's house. She estimates that Barry was in the house for no more than 10 minutes. He then sat on the porch for a half hour. She says she saw Barry talking on his cellphone.

Brown says she took her kids over to meet Barry. The councilmember waved them off at first. Brown says that she heard Barry on his cell say: "He's not in the house."

After the phone call, Barry shook the kids' hands. Brown says Barry eventually left Watts-Brighthaupts' house and stopped his car at the end of Ridge Place in front of a home for pregnant girls. The manager of that facility confirms that he talked to the girls there, asking them how they were going to spend their July 4 holiday.

Brown says Barry then circled back to Brighthaupt's house. Eventually, Barry made his way into Anacostia Park.

Brighthaupt insists Barry wasn't merely driving home. "It wasn't just a regular ride through the park," he says. "He jumped in front of our vehicle. The police stopped him because he was driving erratically. He cuts us off. He [then stopped] and then the police stopped him."

Donna Watts-Brighthaupt has her own response to the U.S. Attorney's Office decision. Barry addressed the dropped charge at a press conference today.

*photo by Darrow Montgomery.

At a little after 9 p.m., Councilmember Marion Barry spokesperson Natalie Williams began another hastily scheduled press conference in front of the Wilson Building by thanking the U.S. Attorney's Office for dropping the stalking charge against the councilmember. Prosecutors had announced three hours earlier that they would not press on with the stalking case. "Our hearts are full tonight with thanks," Williams said. "We are grateful that the U.S. Attorney's Office has seen fit to not charge Mr. Barry."

Barry had been charged with stalking Donna Watts-Brighthaupt over the July 4 weekend. The arrest had since provoked a series of press conferences and embarrassing disclosures concerning Barry's troubled relationship with Watts-Brighthaupt. The disclosures included bizarre hotel fights and audio tapes showing how obsessed Barry had become with his ex-girlfriend. Yet to be clarified is how Barry came to secure lucrative contract work for Watts-Brighthaupt. 

Williams stated that Barry would answer questions about the the payments tomorrow. She also said that they would be able to provide the documents (contracts, e-mails, etc.) proving that the councilmember had acted properly. She insisted that the nothing Barry had done was illegal. 

After Williams finished reading from her prepared text, she took a few questions from reporters. The first question concerned the audio tapes. 

"This is over," Williams declared. But it wasn't. She went on to argue that the tapes only proved that Barry and Watts-Brighthaupt were in a romantic relationship. 

Williams later added that "Barry is not disappointed" by his behavior heard and referenced on the audio tapes. She refused to address Barry's actions at the Democratic National Convention when he kicked Watts-Brighthaupt out of his hotel room after she claims she refused to give him a blowjob. "They're two adults," she'd only say.

As to how Watts-Brighthaupt got the contract work from Barry's office, Williams isn't quite clear on all the details. She says she doesn't know if the ex-girlfriend even went through any interview process. "I have no idea how that transpired," she admitted. 

Earlier this evening, City Desk interviewed Watts-Brighthaupt on the U.S. Attorney's Office decision. 

*photos by Darrow Montgomery.

“I’m relieved it’s over," Watts-Brighthaupt says. "It’s a large price I’ve had to pay. I didn’t ask for this. I’ve learned such a large lesson in dealing with Marion. I’m not invincible. It’s unbelievable the type of person he is. But I wish him well. And I wish him good health. I’d really like him to do the best he can, do what he can for Ward 8 from this day forward.”

Do you think it’s possible he can be an effective councilmember? “No comment.”

Watts-Brighthaupt says that she had kept the recordings of Barry's declarations/pleas/long goodbyes not as payback. She says that he simply called so many times that she didn't even listen to them. She only started saving them in earnest after Barry began making trouble for her ex-husband Delonta Brighthaupt.

"My heart is so heavy," she says. "I worry mainly that I've disappointed my mom, family, and people that I truly thought highly of."

She goes on to say: "I knew how he was. I mistakenly thought I was invincible or that I could take the Barry machine….I think it’s a joke – the Barry Machine. But it’s not something I thought I’d have to deal with publicly. These things went on for a year privately. It strengthened me. It helped me to know what the worst person could be…..I’m now prepared. I’m going to take this as a life lesson.”

Watts-Brighthaupt says that she has no plans to file a civil suit against Barry. "Why bother?" she explains. "He doesn't have any money."

What would you do if Barry called again? “I guess he’d have to leave another voice mail."

"I'm just listening," she said quietly.

She was dressed in jeans, a thin sweater, t-shirt, and dark glasses. In her left hand, she held a drink from McDonald's. In the other, she held a cellphone.

She had found the cameras and the reporters and the microphones in front of the Wilson Building, and felt she needed to take it all in. She stood off to the side, away from the lights, and watched the woman talking into all those microphones.

At a little past 11 p.m. yesterday night, Marion Barry's spokesperson Natalie Williams had assembled the media throng for a quickie press conference to address allegations concerning the councilmember giving lucrative contract work to ex-girlfriend Donna Watts-Brighthaupt.The payments amounted to at least $20,000.

Williams began the presser with an attack on Watts-Brighthaupt. Reading from a typed script, she declared emphatically that the Barry Ex is "unstable" and had sought professional help at one point. This had nothing to do with the circumstances that led to the press conference—Barry's arrest for allegedly stalking Watts-Brighthaupt this past weekend. If she was so unstable, weren't these reasons enough not to hire her for those contract jobs?

Still, Williams kept on her talking point, repeating that word "unstable."

A few feet away, the girl stood still, trying to contain her anger and disappointment. She is 16. She mumbled that she is Watts-Brighthaupt's daughter.

"I'm trying to figure out why she's so unstable," she said of her mother, "when she's sending me off to college next year."

She said she's not surprised by Barry's wave of personal attacks against her mother. She explained: "He's Marion Barry."

There used to be a time not too long ago when Barry meant something important to her family. Although her mom broke things off with the councilmember shortly before his kidney-transplant surgery, she cared for him around-the-clock during his recuperation. "We cooked for him during his recovery," the daughter said. "Cooking and making sure he was comfortable. He had a team of people looking [after] him. Mom was part of the team."

After the press conference ended, she waited for her mom to pick her up. She said that she'll be graduating from high school in a year, that she hoped to attend Hampton University (where Effi Barry once taught). She said she wanted to major in political science.

Photo by Darrow Montgomery

Apparently, watching the funeral online was an important part of yesterday's Congressional schedule.  Politico posts this message from the head of the House's tech operations.

"The Michael Jackson event is causing even more inbound Internet BW usage.
We are monitoring both Internet connections and they are maxed out at 155 Mbps inbound."

More District news, plus Obamas in Russia after the jump.

• A Metro driver was suspended without pay for 5 days after a video of him texting someone surfaced on YouTube, according to WJLA.  Whatever the message was, it probably could not have waited for a minute until the train pulled into a station.  Metro officials want everyone to know that this video was taken 2 and a half weeks before the fatal crash at Fort Totten, so he obviously did not injure anyone by looking down when he was supposed to be, you know, DRIVING THE TRAIN.

• The City Council is discussing changes to the stalking laws that got Marion Barry into trouble this weekend.  Unfortunately for Barry, their plans will amend the current law to include cyber-stalking and other forms of Internet predation, so he's not off the hook.  In other incriminating news, City Desk reported yesterday that Barry's alleged stalking victim received $20,000 in city funds for "consulting services."  What sort of consulting services was she providing?

• Although he was in Moscow meeting with Prime Minister Putin, President Obama spent most of yesterday explaining what his Vice President and Chief of Staff meant when they started babbling incessantly about the economy and health care.  After Joe Biden announced on Sunday that the administration had grossly misread the economy, Obama clarified the economic situation with NBC's Chuck Todd.  Apparently, they did not "misread" the economy, they just had insufficient information.  The same went for Rahm Emanuel, who announced that the White House would be comfortable with a health care policy "triggered" by worsening economic developments, since the path to universal coverage is "negotiable."  Obama vaguely reiterated the need for a "public option" in comments today.  Well, when the cat's away, the mice will play.  Or just stop thinking about what they're saying.

This weekend, Marion Barry engaged in some rather questionable behavior. The councilmember allegedly snuck into his ex-girlfriend's house and later found and/or followed her in his car and was arrested on stalking charges. He had also allegedly locked her out of his hotel room in Denver during the Democratic Convention and canceled her return flight to D.C. The two apparently weren't soul mates. All of this behavior is stunning considering that Barry really, really does not like being stalked.

Barry especially doesn't like being stalked by reporters. In fact, he has quite the history of using the police to prevent reporters from following him.

I reported on the former mayor's drug problems in 2006. During the reporting of that story, part of our job was to follow him around, see who he hung out with, and how he spent his time. After leaving a community event, we followed him in my crummy Corolla. Full disclosure: Our cop skills were really lame.

We didn't get very far before Barry pulled into a liquor store parking lot. Like dummies, we stopped too, even pulling in directly behind him. Barry got out of his car and promptly dialed 911.

Myself and another reporter sat in our car trying to figure out what to do. Barry had made it clear that he would not to talk to us; he was still holding true to his interview ban with City Paper reporters. We could only follow him and report what we saw. After a few moments, I decided to confront the councilmember.

"I'm calling the police," Barry mumbled as I walked up beside him.

"That's ironic—you calling the police," I replied. Full disclosure: I was pissed off at Barry for calling the cops. Seemed like such a dramatic waste of time.

Barry argued that what we were doing was harassment. I started asking him questions about his drug test, I believe. A member of his entourage stood nearby. He was dressed in sweatpants. And like Barry, he had his ear to a cellphone.

"I'm on the phone here," the Sweatpants Man said. He added that he could "get some boys to come over and take care of the situation." He then pointed to the nearby neighborhood. The man making those threats was the Rev. Anthony Motley.

"What are they going to do? Kill us?" I asked.

I thought the whole scene was getting silly. Motley was all bluff. We ended up bailing before the cops showed up. This encounter just wasn't necessary and added nothing to our reporting. The real reporting came from his council record and what his neighbors saw him do (i.e. buy drugs).

Reached today, Motley says he doesn't recall the incident.

On a subsequent night, two other reporters were tasked to follow Barry. They were parked outside Barry's girlfriend's apartment complex. At around 11 p.m., the councilmember drove away. The reporters attempted to follow him.

Barry pulled up alongside two D.C. police cruisers. They chatted for a while. The cops then blocked the street, and Barry drove away. The cops told the reporters that they had to wait a while. After five minutes, the police officers moved their cars and let the reporters pass.

In 2004, I was on another Barry story–this time chronicling his successful hobble toward winning the Ward 8 council seat. On the Sunday before the primary, Barry threatened us with police intervention if we didn't leave a public street near his apartment. We refused. The cops never showed up.

While Barry is always quick to claim that he is the victim of police harassment, he did not hesitate using rank-and-file cops to get what he wants. In our case, that meant not answering questions or not letting reporters see what he does with his late-night downtime.

Photo by Darrow Montgomery