Upstate New York Man Who Stalked Barbara Bush Arrested For Murder Attempt on Former President
By Jobs & Hire Staff Reporter | Feb 02, 2014 12:07 PM EST
An upstate New York man threatened to murder former President George W. Bush so he coud get into "a relationship" with his daughter, Barbara Pierce Bush, officials said Friday.
According to a report by NY Daily News, Benjamin Smith was tracked down by authorities to Lexington Ave. and E. 28th St. in Kips Bay, just a short distance away from the older Bush twin's Greenwich Village home, at 6:15 a.m. Friday.
"Bush will get his," the Pittsford, New York resident reportedly screamed upon his arrest after a loaded Rossi .38-caliber rifle and a container of gasoline were found in his car.
The Secret Service had been attempting to locate Smith for more than 12 hours before his arrest, after the 44-year-old left a note with his mother threatening to kill President Bush and disappeared with the gun, police reported.
“I have to slay a dragon and then Barbara Bush will be mine,” Smith wrote, as evidenced by court documents. “America is finished.”
According to authorities, Smith's mother handed the note to Monroe County police Thursday, triggering the manhunt.
Secret Service agents tracked Smith's mobile phone more than 350 miles away in Manhattan at around 4 a.m., then through Midtown until he stopped in Kips Bay, authorities confirmed.
“I’m divorced and not currently seeing anyone, but I am working on a relationship with Barbara Bush,” Smith told officers who interrogated him, court documents reveal.
Defense attorney Peggy Cross-Goldenberg said the former president was never in any real danger, NY Daily News reports.
"As far as I can tell George W. Bush is not in New York City,” she said. "It would be different if we were in Texas near George Bush's ranch."
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