MIAMI - A Florida judge increased bail to US$50,000 ($72,000) on Wednesday for a homeless man accused of swimming across Biscayne Bay to stalk Russian tennis player Anna Kournikova, a prosecutors' spokesman said.
William Lepeska, 40, who has "Anna" tattooed on his right arm, was arrested on January 30 when
he was found naked in the backyard of one of Kournikova's Miami Beach neighbours, where he told police "I thought this was Anna Kournikova's house, " according to a police report.
Lepeska faces a host of charges including stalking, aggravated battery on a police officer, resisting arrest with violence, burglary and lewd and lascivious battery.
Prosecutors were considering upgrading the misdemeanour stalking charge to a felony count after learning Lepeska had been convicted of attempted second-degree murder in Wisconsin, said Ed Griffith, a spokesman for the Miami-Dade County State Attorney's Office.
Judge Fred Seraphin increased Lepeska's bail from US$1000 to $50,000.
Police said Lepeska swam across Biscayne Bay in an attempt to reach Kournikova's US$5 million waterfront home in Miami Beach. When he was being led away from the neighbour's home, he screamed "Anna, save me," according to the police report.
He was being held at the Miami-Dade County Jail, Griffith said.
Kournikova, a Russian, never won a major singles tournament, but captivated sports photographers and became one of the most marketable female athletes in the world.
- REUTERS
