By Ryan Yousefi
Over two weeks, a Coral Springs woman found herself dealing with a nightmare scenario involving relentless robocalls and chilling threats of physical violence stemming from a road rage incident.
According to the Coral Springs Police Department report, the ordeal began on October 31, when the victim in the case blocked a motorist attempting to cut in front of her.
The victim told police that the motorist, later identified as Richard Brunson Burdell, 40, of Deerfield Beach, became belligerent, verbally harassing, and threatening to follow her home.
The victim described to officers how she attempted to evade Burdell by making a sudden U-turn just before entering the Sawgrass Expressway. However, he continued trailing her through various Coral Springs and Parkland locations.
Eventually, after several dangerous high-speed tactics, close-call red-light interactions, and numerous attempts, the victim was able to lose Burdell and drive home. The victim told police she did not contact law enforcement at the time because she believed the issue to be over.
The situation took a disturbing turn when Burdell transitioned from physical intimidation to a campaign of cyber harassment.
The report doesn’t disclose if the victim was driving a marked company vehicle or how Burdell obtained her phone number. However, records show that between October 31 and November 8, he sent the victim and her boss over 62,000 robocalls, with approximately 5,000 occurring on the initial day of the incident.
During some calls, Burdell demanded $500, threatening to escalate the robocalls if she failed to comply. The victim also reported that numerous times, Burdell said she and her boss needed to send money to a digital wallet or he “would send the Mexicans” as punishment.
According to the victim, due to Burdell’s harassment, her business suffered a monetary loss of over $11,000.
The victims, fearing for their safety, recorded a portion of a threatening conversation with the suspect during one of the phone calls. The recording became crucial evidence, and law enforcement made headway in identifying Burdell by reviewing SunPass tollbooth records that linked his license plate to the crime.
The victim was able to view Burdell in a photo lineup provided by law enforcement and confirmed him to be the same man involved in the road rage incident.
On December 1, Burdell was arrested and transported to the Broward County Main Jail, where he was later released after posting a $65,000 bond.
Burdell now faces charges of cyberstalking, extortion, and computer crimes.
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