The individual accused of stalking WNBA star Caitlin Clark made an unsettling confession upon entering the courtroom.
Michael Lewis, a Texas resident, was apprehended earlier this month at an Indianapolis hotel, where Clark’s basketball team, Indiana Fever, is located. He was suspected of stalking and harassing the well-known player.
Authorities reported that between December 16 and January 2, Clark received multiple threatening, obscene, and sexually explicit messages over social media. The FBI subsequently traced the IP addresses, linking Lewis to the communications.
According to court filings, one message sent to Clark on Twitter stated: “@CaitlinClark22 been driving around your house 3x a day..but don’t call the law just yet, the public is allowed to drive by gainbridge..aka Caitlin’s Fieldhouse”, as reported by the BBC.
Another message read: “I’m getting tickets. I’m sitting behind the bench.”
The 22-year-old athlete, who earned the title of WNBA’s rookie of the year following a remarkable college career at Iowa where she set league records, reported the messages due to concerns for her safety.
Now a leading sports figure in the US with a $28 million Nike endorsement, Clark claimed she had to change her appearance because of the messages.
The 55-year-old appeared before Marion County Superior Court on Tuesday (January 14) where he made some bizarre comments.
Before Superior Court Judge Angela Davis addressed his case, Lewis declared that he is ‘guilty as charged’, as reported by NBC News, and continued to disrupt proceedings with his outbursts.
At one moment, he exclaimed: “Throw me the booky!”
When court records mistakenly listed a ‘Jr’ after his name, he reacted: “I’m free! I guess you got the wrong guy!”
Courtroom officials tried to manage Lewis by reminding him to refrain from interrupting, while the judge instructed him to ‘stop talking’, according to The Guardian.
The court was informed that Clark felt ‘terrorized, frightened, intimidated or threatened’ and experienced a ‘reasonable fear of sexual battery’.
Lewis interjected, ‘Can I say something’, to which the Judge responded, ‘Not yet’.
When questioned about a possible mental illness, he mentioned, ‘I need my medicines’, and repeated this when asked if he needed legal counsel.
Lewis stated he couldn’t afford a lawyer, being unemployed and with $100 in savings.
He also noted that he lives in his car, a 2016 Toyota Avalon, valued at ‘ballpark 10 grand’.
Lewis then signed court orders to cease contacting Clark and to stay away from Gainbridge Fieldhouse, Indiana Fever’s home venue.
Additionally, he has been banned from Hinkle Fieldhouse, where Clark’s boyfriend and Butler University assistant basketball coach, Connor McCaffery, works.
A plea of not guilty was entered on Lewis’s behalf, and he is being held on a $50,000 bond.
Even if he posted bail, Lewis would be required to remain in Indiana and be monitored by GPS, but he refused bail, asserting: “I’m here. I’m staying.”
Lewis faces one count of stalking due to the ‘repeated or continuing harassment of Caitlin Clark’.
Court documents indicate Lewis was aware he did not have a relationship with Clark and allegedly told arresting officers: “It’s an imagination, fantasy type thing and it’s a joke, and it’s nothing to do with threatening.”
Marion county prosecutor, Ryan Mears, commented: “It takes a lot of courage for women to come forward in these cases, which is why many don’t.
“In doing so, the victim is setting an example for all women who deserve to live and work in Indy without the threat of sexual violence.”