Accused ‘Law & Order’ stalker to remain in jail

Charles Nagle, the Northeast Philadelphia man charged with stalking Law & Order: Criminal Intent star Kathryn Erbe, will remain in jail here pending resolution of New York criminal charges.

Philadelphia Common Pleas Court Judge Joan A. Brown denied a request Tuesday by Nagle's attorney to lift a detainer against Nagle, 36, and let him surrender to New York authorities.

Nagle's next court appearance is May 13, when Common Pleas Court Judge Frank Palumbo decides if he should be extradited to New York.

Nagle was arrested March 24 at his home by Philadelphia and New York City police detectives on charges he stalked Erbe and her family over the last two years.

He was held on $50,000 bail pending extradition. He might have been able to get that bail reduced but he is on probation for a 1996 case in which he pleaded guilty to corrupting the morals of a minor and related charges.

Nagle's New York charges violated his Philadelphia probation, which lasts until February 2014, and triggered a detainer, an order to hold him pending a violation hearing.

Defense attorney Robert F. Datner urged Brown to lift the detainer. From 1996 until his arrest in March, Datner said, Nagle has successfully completed therapy for sex offenders, obtained a high school equivalency diploma and was not rearrested.

"My client is a model probationer," he said. "Everything asked of him he has done."

Nagle was not at the hearing Tuesday, but his wife, Fay Rose, and the elder of his two daughters were.

Nagle, a singer who also goes by the name "Chaz Rose," had a reputation as an eccentric in his Northeast neighborhood. He collects Batman memorabilia known to dress as the "Caped Crusader" and named his daughters after Batman characters.

Assistant District Attorney Alisa Shver argued Nagle should remain in custody, adding that the hardship on Nagle's family "was his own doing, not anybody else's."

Shver said Nagle's alleged stalking included writing letters to Erbe's minor daughter, the actress' ex-husband, cousin and two siblings about his love for her.

New York authorities allege that Nagle began writing love letters to Erbe about two years ago and posted them on his MySpace page.

Last year, Nagle, his wife and daughters showed up in the Bronx during filming and got a photo taken with Erbe.

According to published reports, Erbe was uneasy with the tone of Nagle's letters even before the photo-op and became more uncomfortable when he posted a photo - his arm around Erbe but his daughter cropped out - on Facebook.

After Nagle allegedly showed up at another film shoot a few months ago, New York City police were called and got an arrest warrant charging him with aggravated harassment and stalking.

Datner maintained that the New York charges were "pretty wishy-washy" and "very defensible." He said the film shoot Nagle attended was open to the public and that Erbe consented to the photo.