Ashanti Testifies Against Fan On Trial Again For Stalking Her

NEW YORK (CBSNewYork/AP) – Ashanti says she was "disgusted" and "absolutely scared" when she learned in July 2013 that a fan who had been convicted of stalking her had since been tweeting her X-rated messages and posed for a photo with her sister.

The Grammy-winning R&B singer testified Tuesday at Devar Hurd's trial in Manhattan. She said she was at a birthday dinner for her mother when another fan pointed out via Twitter that Hurd was the man in a photo with her sister from a 2012 event.

The Long Island-born star then realized that Hurd was behind Twitter accounts that had sent her about 700 explicit, unwanted messages over a year.

Hurd is acting as his own attorney, and upon cross-examining her, he confronted her about what he considered some of his sexiest tweets, messages that Ashanti described as "disturbing."

The defendant read aloud in the courtroom a vast selection of the tweets, asking the singer, "Did your read that one?"

Hurd was convicted in 2009 of stalking and served about two years in jail. He argued that if his tweets were not welcomed, the "Foolish" singer could have blocked him on the social media site.

He is charged with stalking and aggravated harassment.

Prosecutors allege that once Hurd got out of jail in 2011, he started harassing Ashanti again, beginning with phone calls to Tina Douglas, the singer's mother and manager, WCBS 880's Irene Cornell reported.

Douglas, testified Tuesday that "it made me sick" when she learned Hurd was back to his old tricks.

The mother's emotional testimony left Hurd unmoved, as he began his cross-examination by asking her, "How we doing, T? Everything OK?"

Assistant District Attorney Kathryn Werner told jurors in opening arguments Monday that Hurd was unfazed by his earlier conviction, jail time and the protection order.

Evidence in the latest trial will include telephone calls from Rikers Island, Cornell reported.

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• Irene Cornell