Nashville man sentenced 3 years for cyberstalking multiple victims using Instagram

Andy Humbles, Nashville Tennessean
·2 min read

A Nashville man is sentenced to three years in federal prison for cyberstalking multiple people and posting racist threats through social media.

Barry Zarculia, 55, was sentenced Friday after he pleaded guilty to three counts of cyberstalking in November, according to the U.S. Department of Justice Middle District of Tennessee.

Zarculia was accused of using a cellular phone and an Instagram account to send death threats, threaten bodily harm and harass, intimidate and stalk several victims, based on an investigation by the FBI. Zarculia was arrested in November 2020.

According to the Department of Justice, the findings from the investigation include:

  • Zarculia posted "hateful and racist messages" on Instagram. One included the phrasing “Black lives don’t matter.”

  • Applauded the shooter in the 2017 Las Vegas massacre and indicated he wanted the same attack to occur in Nashville.

  • Sent threatening messages to an individual who gave negative feedback to Zarculia's post that included a reference to the street of the victim's home. A phone call that included a threat of gun violence was also referenced by the Department of Justice.

  • Sent unsolicited messages to a woman that were described as "overly sexual" and referenced her whereabouts several times and often included photos of his genitals. Once Zarcuila was accused of approaching the woman in a grocery store. Messages continued to escalate to "violent and threatening rants," according to the Department of Justice, and also became directed to a friend of the woman who tried to intervene.

  • Zarculia sent unsolicited messages to a different woman that escalated into harassment and threatening text and audio messages. Messages included references that indicated Zarculia had followed her. Once, the woman needed assistance from a park ranger while hiking when she saw Zarculia.

Multiple victims were forced to take additional security measures or even had to move, according to the Department of Justice.

Reach Andy Humbles at ahumbles@tennessean.com or 615-726-5939 and on Twitter @ AndyHumbles.

This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: Nashville man sentenced for cyberstalking victims using Instagram