Pop star Sabrina Carpenter has taken legal action against a 31-year-old stranger who she says tried to force his way into her Los Angeles house, then came back two more times after getting arrested.
A judge granted the 27-year-old “Espresso” singer a temporary restraining order on May 29 against William Applegate. The court papers describe a month-long pattern of stalking that ended with the man trying to pry open her front door.
Carpenter wrote in her court statement that she has never met Applegate or talked to him. “William Applegate is a complete stranger to me. I have never met him or communicated with him in any way. I have no desire to meet him or communicate with him,” she said.
The singer also asked the court to protect her older sister Sarah Carpenter, 29, and Sarah’s boyfriend George Smith, 26, who both live with her.
The First Break-In Attempt Happened On May 23
The scariest incident took place on May 23. According to court documents, Applegate went onto a neighbor’s property to get around the security fence surrounding Carpenter’s home. He then walked straight to her front door and “forcefully pushed down” on the door handle, trying to get inside.
When he found the door locked, he knocked repeatedly and rang the doorbell. A member of Carpenter’s security team showed up and told him to leave. But Applegate refused. He made up a lie that he personally knew Carpenter and that she was waiting for him.
“Applegate fabricated the outrageous and entirely false claim that he personally knew me and that I was expecting him. This was a complete lie,” Carpenter wrote in her statement.
Police arrived and arrested Applegate for criminal trespass. The whole event was caught on Ring camera footage, which Carpenter included in her court filing.
He Came Back Two Days In A Row After Getting Out Of Jail
The situation got worse after the arrest.
Less than 24 hours later, on May 24, Applegate returned to Carpenter’s home. Then he came back again on May 25. This time, he parked his car outside and watched the property for hours.
The singer’s security team watched him closely. One guard, Hasan Brown, said in his court statement that on May 25, he saw Applegate unfasten his seatbelt and recline his driver’s seat “to a fully flat position.” Brown said this looked like “a deliberate attempt to conceal himself from view.”
Another guard, Jorge Lepe, said he saw Applegate park his SUV, then get into a parked Toyota Prius and sleep there for two hours before moving his car closer to the driveway.
Carpenter described these actions as “deliberate surveillance of my movements and my home.”
“This is not the behavior of someone who stumbled upon my property by accident. This is intentional stalking and surveillance directed at me and my residence,” she wrote.
Police Say The Stalking Started Weeks Earlier
After reviewing security footage, Carpenter’s team discovered that Applegate had been coming around her neighborhood since at least April 20. At first, he kept his distance. But over time, he parked closer and closer to her house.
LAPD Detective Peter Doomanis backed up Carpenter’s concerns in his own court statement.
“It is my professional opinion that [Applegate] has developed a disturbing and irrational fixation on petitioner,” Doomanis wrote. “The pattern of his conduct, which may have begun as early as approximately April 20, 2026, reflects the hallmarks of a fixated, obsessional individual… This trajectory is consistent with well-documented patterns of stalking behavior that pose a serious and escalating risk [to] victim safety.”
The detective also said the case has been sent to the Los Angeles City Attorney’s Office to decide whether to file criminal charges.
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What The Restraining Order Requires
The temporary order forces Applegate to stay at least 100 yards (about 91 meters) away from Carpenter, her home, her car, her workplace, and the other people living with her. He is also not allowed to contact, threaten, or harass her.
A hearing is set for June 17 to decide if the order should become permanent.
Applegate also has to show up in criminal court on June 18 to face trespassing charges.
Carpenter said in her statement that the whole experience has left her scared for her safety.
“The totality of Applegate’s conduct has caused me significant and ongoing fear for my personal safety and the safety of all individuals residing in my home,” she wrote. “His act of physically attempting to open and enter my front door, without invitation, consent or any lawful basis is among the most disturbing violations of personal safety and privacy I have ever experienced.”
She added that his false belief that he knows her shows he has a “dangerous, delusional and irrational fixation” on her.
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