PALM BEACH COUNTY, Fla. (CBS12) — A Palm Beach County tattoo artist is accused of unleashing a barrage of threats to burn down a woman’s home, destroy her car, and share explicit images of her.
Officers with the Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office say they were called to an active threat on Saturday.
Upon arrival, deputies say they met with the victim, who told investigators 38-year-old John Thomas Ryan had flooded her phone with repeated calls and messages overnight, escalating into threats to set her house on fire and damage her vehicle.
Deputies said the messages continued even when the victim told Ryan to stop contacting her, and that law enforcement was involved. Ryan allegedly responded by saying he did not care and would go to jail for retaliation while hinting that he was on his way to her house.
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Ryan was previously arrested in 2024 for battery involving the same victim and later charged in a separate case for aggravated stalking, according to previous reports.
Despite being on probation, deputies say the harassment resumed with the victim reporting that after confronting Ryan about him allegedly putting water in the gas tank, he became enraged and sent threats as well as demands for money for a car payment, warning he would burn her house down if she didn’t comply.
In addition to the threats, Ryan is also accused of spreading nude photos of the victim without her consent.
As deputies were reviewing the evidence, they say her phone mysteriously turned off. When the phone powered back on, deputies say all of their messages were mysteriously wiped.
Ryan was subsequently booked for counts of aggravated stalking after a court-imposed prohibition, aggravated stalking with credible threat, sexual cyberharassment, and extortion, per PBSO.