Jeffery Martin

Jeffery Martin, 55, a retired Pepper Pike police officer, was sentenced Thursday to 33 months in prison after he pleaded guilty to stalking his ex-girlfriend.

(Cory Shaffer, cleveland.comr)

CLEVELAND, Ohio -- A retired Pepper Pike police officer was sentenced Thursday to nearly three years in prison for stalking his ex-girlfriend for more than seven months.

Jeffery Martin, 56, pretended to be a police officer and a private investigator to find out the woman's personal information, and followed her to the Bedford Police Department in December when she reported his crimes, court records say.

Common Pleas Judge Nancy Margaret Russo sentenced Martin Thursday to 33 months in prison after he pleaded guilty to menacing by stalking, aggravated trespassing, impersonating a police officer and unauthorized use of a computer charges.

A grand jury indicted Martin on charges including rape, but the charge was dropped as part of Martin's plea deal.

Martin was suspended four times during his 22-year career as a Pepper Pike police officer.

Martin also agreed to forfeit all of his police badges, certificates and weapons as part of a deal with the Ohio Attorney General's Office, which handled the prosecution.

He will be on parole for three years after his release from prison.

Martin called the Springdale Police Department on Aug. 9 and identified himself as a Pepper Pike officer, according to court records. He then asked Springdale officers to follow a car owned by the woman's brother as part of an investigation, records say.

Martin sent a letter to the woman's home in Bedford on Aug. 11, and followed her to a party in Parma on Oct. 17, according to court records.

On Nov. 15, he followed her to Whole Foods in Woodmere and to Ursuline College in Pepper Pike, according to records. Martin told campus security that he was a private investigator in order to gain access to the campus, according to court records.

Martin also followed the woman from her home to the Bedford Police Department on Dec. 7, where she accused Martin of raping her and stalking her, according to court records.

Martin followed the woman into the department's lobby, but declined to speak to detectives, records say. The next day, Martin called a Bedford detective and asked if he was going to be charged with rape, court records said.

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