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The man accused of stalking and threatening WNBA star Caitlin Clark had his first day in court on Tuesday. During the proceedings during his opening hearing in Indianapolis, Michael Thomas Lewis, 55, created a spectacle with multiple outbursts.
At one point during the hearing, Lewis shouted out, without being prompted when his case was called by the judge, “Guilty as charged!” He also later yelled “Throw me the booky!”
At another point, Lewis complained that his name didn’t include “Jr.” in court documents and shouted, “I’m free! I guess you got the wrong guy!”
Lewis, from Denton, Texas, was charged by Marion County, Indiana prosecutors with one count of stalking – a Level 5 felony – and engaging in a “course of conduct involving repeated or continuing harassment of Caitlin Clark that would cause a reasonable person to feel terrorized.”
NBC News reports that each time Michael Thomas Lewis made his outbursts he was approached by courtroom deputies who told him to sit up straight and not interrupt.
When Marion County Superior Court Judge Angela Davis read the charges against him, Lewis asked her, “Can I say something?” To which the judge replied, “Not yet.”
He also reportedly replied when asked if he has any mental illness, “I need my medicines.” Then when asked if he lives in Texas, Lewis answered, “Sort of, I live in my vehicle.” That vehicle is a 2016 Toyota Avalon, which, as he stated during the proceedings, is worth “ballpark 10 grand.”
By the end of the court session, Michael Thomas Lewis had signed court orders agreeing to stay away from Gainbridge Fieldhouse, to have no contact with Caitlin Clark, and to stay out of Hinkle Fieldhouse, where Connor McCaffrey, Clark’s boyfriend, works.
The judge entered a plea of not guilty and ordered him held in custody because he cannot afford the $50,000 bond she set. Lewis was fine with that, telling the court, “I don’t want bond, bail, whatever. I’m here. I’m staying.”
Caitlin Clark, who helped in the arrest of Lewis, was praised by Marion County Prosecutor Ryan Mears for “setting an example for all women.”
“No matter how prominent a figure you are, this case shows that online harassment can quickly escalate to actual threats of physical violence,” Mears said. “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.”