A man is in custody after he was arrested by SMU police and is accused of harassing and stalking two SMU students on campus.

The 22-year-old man, Ian Smith, was arrested on April 12 after a student reported seeing him on campus that morning following police alerts to stay wary of a convicted felon. Police subsequently conducted a search and found Smith in Carrollton.

Smith is charged with harassment and stalking with prior conviction. His bond is set at 30,000. According to SMU police, he is unaffiliated with SMU.

There were multiple outstanding warrants for Smith, which included stalking and violating a criminal trespass warning. Smith was previously sentenced and convicted in 2021 for a terroristic threat, harassment and retaliation. He was released from jail on March 13, 2024.

Days after his release, two female students reported getting suspicious messages on Instagram and TikTok. An affidavit obtained by the Daily Campus said a detective directly told Smith not to contact any SMU students or people involved in previous reports.

​​Smith contacted both students through social media accounts repeatedly, according to the affidavit. One comment Smith left on a student’s post said “When you took this, I was locked in a single cell in Dallas County. My friend messaged u but you blocked him. Why did you let me suffer. For years.”

These two same students were previously stalked in 2021 and 2022. One of the students who were harassed said that Smith threatened to kill himself and her. According to SMU police, Smith was working as a delivery driver while he cyberstalked and harassed students.

It’s unclear how many students reported this behavior during his prior conviction. However, police reports said that Smith intimidated the student who reported him and her friends.

SMU police sent out numerous alerts to notify students to report his presence on campus through the “SMU Alert” system.