UPDATED: E. Patchogue Man Charged With Stalking

An East Patchogue man was arrested Wednesday and charged with stalking a Miller Place woman and her family over a period of almost three years, police said.

According to police, Joseph Mathews, 37, allegedly made unwanted contact with a 49-year-old woman and her family by phone and mail starting in 2008.

An investigation by officers in the Sixth Precinct’s Crime Section division that spanned three years led to Mathews’ arrest. Police arrested Mathews at Starbucks on Route 112 in Medford after he agreed to meet the victim.

Police said they had the coffee shop under surveillance and approached Mathews after learning he was inside. He fled the scene but was arrested a short distance away.

There was no relationship between Mathews and the victim, police said. 

Mathews encountered the woman while she was working at a retail establishment and interpreted her good service as a possible sign of affection, Suffolk County Police Lt. Michael Murphy told Patch Thursday night.

"He took it as an indication that there was more there than there was," Murphy said of the woman's friendly nature. 

Mathews is charged with stalking, three counts of aggravated harassment and resisting arrest. He was released on bail and will be arraigned at First District Court in Central Islip on April 27.