Man Mistakes Local TV News Anchor for Ex-Girlfriend

By Eric Von Gringleheim, Staff Reporter 
LOS ANGELES, CA 
A Glendale man was arrested today on charges of trespassing, disturbing the peace and stalking.  Police picked up Gary Cozine this morning at 264 Mountain View Road, the residence of Linda Sashuti and Ted Perkins.  Ms. Sashuti, a news anchor for the local Channel Four news team, lives with Mr. Perkins, her architect boyfriend.  Cozine was discovered asleep in the backseat of the couples' black Range Rover, using newspapers for warmth. 

See other pictures from Cozine's arrest.

    Mr. Perkins discovered Cozine as he was getting in the vehicle to go to work.   "At first I thought it was a possum" said a bemused Perkins.  "All I could see was a tuft of hair and the Metro section.  I thought maybe it had made a nest to raise its young."  Apparently it was Perkins's nose that put the lie to the situation.  "I smelled Doritos and remembered seeing a report Linda had done that that is the preferred snack food of psychos."  He did not wake Cozine, instead returning to the house and phoning the police who arrived shortly thereafter and placed Cozine under arrest.
     This is apparently not the first run-in the couple has had with Cozine.  Back in December Ms. Sashuti had reported that she had been followed on a number of occasions by an old blue pick-up truck.  The plates had been traced to Cozine who was warned by police to stay away from Sashuti.  The news anchor explained, "The police spoke to him and assured me that he would not be bothering me again.  I thought things were fine until a couple of weeks ago when things seemed odd at the house."  Apparently Cozine had used the Internet to discover Sashuti's home address and had started staking out the residence.  Sashuti started noticing strange occurrences.  "It was a number of things really.  We would put our trash by the curb at night and in the morning it would be strewn all over the street.  At first we just thought it was raccoons but then we noticed other things.  Sometimes the mail would be opened and we would hear noises in the bushes outside our bedroom at night.  We thought it might be this guy but we could never be sure."
     Cozine's demeanor became surreal when he was being placed in the back of the patrol car.  "He kept screaming, 'Don't let them do this Janet.  Tell them you love me.'  I had no idea what he was talking about" concedes Sashuti.
     Mr. Perkins added "I'm just concerned for our well being.  I don't want anyone hurting Linda.  There are a lot of nuts out there and apparently this guy is one of them.  I'm not vengeful, I just think it's sad when a mind gets twisted this way.  I hope he can get some help."
     What caused the odd behavior in Cozine?  And who is "Janet"?  Apparently Cozine became convinced that Ms. Sashuti was an ex-girlfriend of his by the name of Janet Peterson.  Ms. Peterson does exist and she does know Cozine but clearly she is not Linda Sashuti.  Apparently Peterson and Cozine dated briefly in the early part of 1998.  Things did not work out for the couple and they split up.  Peterson now lives under an assumed name in an undisclosed location in the greater Los Angeles area.  (She would only speak on the condition that her whereabouts not be disclosed.)  When asked to characterize the nature of the relationship, Peterson responded, "We went out for like three weeks or something.  It never really got serious.  At least on my side.  (Cozine) started getting really possessive right away."  Asked for specific examples of Cozine's possessive behavior Peterson leaned forward and said, "Oh, I've got a ton of them.  How about this.  He used to collect my dental floss.  He would go into my trash after I had flossed and remove it.  Then he would put it in a shoebox.  Tell me that isn't creepy."  Asked how Cozine took the news of the break up, Peterson replied, "Oh, he totally denied it.  He acted like we were still going out.  I told him that I didn't want to see him anymore and to never call me again.  Fifteen minutes later he'd call back and ask what I wanted to do that weekend.  Finally I had to move in order to get away from him.  I think he has short-term memory loss or something.  The guy's kind of mental."  When asked if their relationship had ever become intimate, Peterson replied, "My therapist says I can't talk about that unless she's in the room."  She paused and added "Sometimes I hyperventilate and vomit."  When told of the circumstances surrounding Cozine's arrest she said "I know this is a selfish thing to say but frankly I'm glad he thinks (Sashuti) is me.  I just want to get on with my life."
     Cozine apparently began to suspect that Sashuti was Peterson sometime in late September of 1999.  Speaking from his cell downtown he explained "I was sitting at home doing some sketches of my toenail clippings and the news was on and I heard her voice and I knew right away it was her.  Then I saw that she had changed her name.  I saw through that right away.  I knew."  Cozine became obsessed with watching Ms. Sashuti, never missing the news.  When the police searched his apartment, a run down affair in South Glendale, CA they found literally hundreds of hours of Channel Four news broadcasts on videotapes, all neatly labeled and categorized on 3x5" index cards.  They were meticulously annotated with observations such as "October 12, 1999 Noon broadcast- pink suit, silver bracelet, looks melancholy-- is she missing me?"
     Cozine seems utterly convinced that Sashuti and Peterson are one in the same.  When he was asked about the obvious physical differences between the two women (Peterson is Caucasian, Sashuti Japanese) he responded "She (Sashuti) has had some work done-- dyed her hair and had a nose job but it's her all right."  When he was shown a picture of the real Janet Peterson, Cozine studied it for a minute and then said, "Who's the pig?"
     Cozine has not made any friends with the police officers who placed him under arrest.  Typically the officers try to keep their emotions at bay while doing their work.  Cozine, however, seems to have gotten under the skin of some of the officers.  Jimmy Girthner, one of the arresting officers, said that Cozine was taunting him.  "In the car on the way downtown he kept saying 'I've got some donuts back at my place if you guys are getting hungry' and 'Where do you buy pants that size?'"  Mr. Girthner admits he has a weight problem and says he is trying to cut down on sugary snacks.  Girthner apparently took Cozine's comments personally.  "The guy is a jerk nut.  We'll see who's laughing once he goes to the State Pen, the little fairy."
     In police custody he exhibited wild mood swings.   At first he didn't seem to take the charges seriously and laughed it off.  When he was told that he could end up serving prison time he appeared crestfallen and asked to use the bathroom.  At other times he was much more belligerent.  "He was yelling 'You stupid sons of bitches!  My cousin is a lawyer.  I'm going to sue your asses!'" according to Steve O'Donnel, one of the officers present when Cozine was taken into custody.  When Cozine was told that his cousin was a prosecutor in the District Attorney's office and might be serving as part of the prosecution team, Cozine reportedly began to cry and asked to call his mother.
     Cozine's contrition may have come too late.  Monday he will be arraigned in Los Angeles County Court.