Why a federal agent accused of stalking in Key West is now in contempt of court

A federal agent assigned to Key West has been arrested twice on charges he stalked his former romantic partner, and now a judge has revoked his bond after prosecutors say he violated court orders to stay away from the woman.

Scott Dale Hatfield, 38, is in Monroe County jail on contempt of court, failure to appear, battery and stalking charges.

Monroe County State Attorney’s Office prosecutors filed a successful motion to revoke his bond Thursday after they say he contacted the woman both in person and by phone in violation of a court mandate that he not do so.

“He presents a real threat to her,” Assistant State Attorney Joseph Mansfield told the Miami Herald/FLKeysnews.com. “He’s exhibiting signs of legitimate threats to her health and safety, and we don’t want to take it lightly.”

Hatfield, a U.S. Customs and Border Protection agent, was first arrested May 31 after Key West police say he pushed the woman, whose name has been redacted from court documents released to the Herald, outside the Body Zone gym on North Roosevelt Boulevard.

The woman and witnesses say that before Hatfield pushed the woman, he held her car door open to try to prevent her from driving off. Two construction workers who witnessed the incident yelled at Hatfield to leave her alone, according to his arrest report.

One of the construction workers corroborated the woman’s account to police, according to the report.

Hatfield told police he did push the woman, but he said he was trying to stop her from kicking him. Officers then arrested him on one count of misdemeanor battery. He bonded out of jail that same day, according to Monroe County Sheriff’s Office records.

The woman showed officers her screen shots of her cellphone that showed 11 missed calls from Hatfield two days earlier. She also showed officers screen shots of a text she sent to him telling him to stop texting her, “and Hatfield continued to text her eight more times,” Officer Randy Perez wrote in his report.

The woman told officers “she feared Hatfield” because he showed up at her house “unannounced” in his Customs uniform and she told him to leave, Perez wrote.

Arrested again

On Monday, the woman called police again saying Hatfield called her while she was at work. She didn’t have a physical copy of the court order prohibiting him from contacting her, but told officers she could get the document, according to a June 5 arrest report.

Officer Samuel Adorno said in his report that he gave the woman a ride to the county clerk’s office on Whitehead Street where they obtained the order, which states that Hatfield is to have no physical contact with the woman, nor call, text, email or fax her.

Police arrested Hatfield on Tuesday, and he was released the same day after posting a $25,000 bond.

The State Attorney’s Office officially charged Hatfield with misdemeanor battery and stalking on Wednesday.

Mansfield said that his office sought the motion to revoke his bond Thursday because while the woman and Key West officer came out of the clerk’s office on Monday, Hatfield was there parked in his car.

According to Mansfield, Hatfield called his supervising agent and said he accidentally ran into her, but prosecutors say his presence was enough to arrest him again.

“He violated the court order not to have contact with her,” Mansfield said.

Hatfield’s attorney, Daniel Lewin of West Palm Beach, released the following statement when contacted by the Herald about the case:

“It is my great honor to represent Scott Hatfield. He is a decorated veteran and member of law enforcement whose life has been dedicated to serving others. He looks forward to his day in court and never failed to appear. His appearance was not required at the last court date, which is set mainly for the purpose of entering a plea of not guilty. His bond was revoked due to a subsequent allegation, and he turned himself in at the jail as required. We have significant doubts about the veracity of the allegations. It is clear that emotions and personal conflicts have factored into the situation. Mr. Hatfield is entitled to the presumption of innocence, and I urge the public and the media to withhold judgment until all the facts have been presented and evaluated.”

Customs structure

Hatfield is scheduled to appear before a judge June 21 to answer for the contempt of court charge.

U.S. Customs and Border Protection officials didn‘t immediately respond for requests for comment on the case. It’s not clear for which specific department under the Customs umbrella he works. Customs is the largest federal law enforcement agency under the U.S. Department of Homeland Security.

Specific departments under Customs include the Border Patrol, Customs agents who work at airports, and U.S. Customs and Border Protection Air and Marine Operations, which patrols the seas and skies in a similar manner as the U.S. Coast Guard.