11 months ago
17
ESPN News Services
Jul 28, 2025, 02:34 PM ET
A 55-year-old Texas antheral has been sentenced to much than 18 months successful situation aft pleading blameworthy Monday to stalking and harassing Indiana Fever prima Caitlin Clark.
Michael Lewis, from Denton, Texas, was arrested successful January astatine an Indianapolis edifice connected a felony stalking complaint aft allegedly repeatedly sending threats and sexually convulsive messages to Clark via societal media, according to tribunal documents.
Lewis, whose condemnation includes recognition for clip served astatine the Marion County Adult Detention Center since his arrest, besides was ordered by the justice to debar immoderate interaction with Clark, to enactment distant from Fever oregon Indiana Pacers games and the teams' properties, and to not usage the net during his sentence, according to WTHR Ch. 13 successful Indianapolis.
Lewis, who prophesized during Monday's courtroom proceedings that the extremity of the satellite was coming, besides was recommended to get intelligence wellness treatment, according to WTHR.
"You can't assistance yourself until you get help," the justice told Lewis.
The Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department archetypal spoke to Lewis connected Jan. 8 astir his alleged messages to the 23-year-old Clark connected X, formerly known arsenic Twitter, from Dec. 16 done Jan. 2.
"Been driving astir your location 3x a day," Lewis messaged to Clark, according to tribunal documents. "But don't telephone the instrumentality conscionable yet, the publc is allowed to thrust by gainbridge..aka Caitlin's Fieldhouse."
"I'm getting tickets. I'm sitting down the bench," work different message.
"They said I was sending threatening texts..but the lone though connected my caput was....CAITLIIIIIIIIIIIIINNNNN," work another.
Other messages were sexually violent, according to tribunal documents.
Clark, present 23, told constabulary astatine the clip that she feared for her information -- adjacent earlier Lewis arrived successful Indianapolis -- and had adjacent altered her quality successful public. She besides told constabulary that she ne'er responded to immoderate of Lewis' messages oregon posts.
The FBI tracked the IP addresses of Lewis' messages to a edifice successful downtown Indianapolis arsenic good arsenic the Indianapolis Public Library. Indianapolis constabulary past made a payment cheque connected Lewis, according to tribunal documents, and helium told officers that helium was successful "an imaginary relationship" with Clark and that helium came to Indianapolis connected vacation.
The messages to Clark continued aft the archetypal sojourn by police.
In December, a 40-year-old antheral from Oregon pleaded blameworthy to stalking Paige Bueckers and was fixed a one-year suspended condemnation and 3 years' probation.
ESPN's Katie Barnes and The Associated Press contributed to this report.
