A man has been arrested and charged with stalking Drew Barrymore after he was found searching for her Long Island home, days after he crashed an on-stage panel she was hosting in Manhattan.
Chad Michael Busto, 43, of Washington, D.C., was arrested Thursday just before midnight, Southampton Town Police said in a news release.
Police said that patrol officers made contact with him while investigating a 911 call about a suspicious person Wednesday afternoon.
“It was reported at the time that Busto was riding a bicycle up into private driveways and stating to area residents that he was looking for Drew Barrymore’s residence,” police said. “He was suspected of stalking Ms. Barrymore due to previous incidents involving the actor.”
Officers found and questioned him, and he was released and appeared to leave the area, police said.
Patrol officers notified the detective division, who conducted a follow up investigation which “led to facts that substantiated a charge for stalking and a wanted flyer was distributed to neighboring agencies."
Busto was located by Thursday afternoon in East Hampton, taken into custody and turned over to Southampton Town Police.
He was charged with fourth degree stalking, a class B misdemeanor, and will appear before Southampton Town Justice Court for arraignment Friday morning.
The arrest comes three days after a man identifying himself as Busto approached the stage at the 92nd Street Y, a Manhattan cultural center, where Barrymore was leading a conversation with singer/actor Reneé Rapp about her latest album.
Video of the incident showed Barrymore interrupted mid-conversation by someone abruptly yelling, “Drew Barrymore!”
The man then approached the stage shouting “My name is Chad Michael Busto. You know who I am.”
“I need to see you at some point while you’re in New York, OK?” he said, walking along the edge of the stage.
Rapp immediately appeared startled and got up from her seat, grabbed Barrymore and rushed her offstage. Two men who appeared to be security officers then approached the man, seemingly to escort him away.