Young Man Arrested, Accused of Stalking 13-Year Old At Bus Stop in Englishtown

An 18 year-old man has been arrested by Englishtown Borough Police on charges he stalked and harassed a 13-year old girl on the way home from her bus stop, according to police. 

Yakov Yelizarov of Manalapan Township is alleged to have followed the girl on Tuesday, April 1 in a silver 4-door sedan.

On that day, scared and upset, the girl immediately alerted police with a 9-1-1 call and reported the man remained parked in front of her house, police said.

Ptl. Kayla Santiago of the Englishtown Police immediately responded to the area but reported she found the driver no longer there. 

On Wednesday, April 2, Ptl. Santiago was en route to the juvenile's bus stop to escort her home. But on the way there, a bus driver flagged down the patrol car to report that silver vehicle from the day before was in front of the juvenile's residence again.

Upon arrival, Ptl. Santiago found that a a vehicle matching the description of the accused's vehicle was blocked on a dead end street near the juvenile’s residence by the bus driven by the girl's bus driver. 

Yelizarov could not give a good reason for being in the area, police said.  He was arrested after an investigation conducted on scene by Ptl. Santiago, Lt. Peter Cooke and Cpl. Trevor Martinson. 

The vehicle that Yelizarov was driving was impounded, and his cell phone was seized.

A search warrant for the cell phone was obtained with the assistance of the Monmouth County Prosecutor's Office.

Yelizarov was lodged into the Monmouth County Correctional Institution in default of bail set at $3,500 by the Judge James M. Newman.

An arrest is not a conviction, and every defendant is presumed innocent until proven guilty in court.