The alleged Caitlin Clark stalker was held on $50,000 bail during the hearing

INDIANAPOLIS – Michael Lewis, who was arrested on a felony charge for allegedly stalking WNBA star Caitlin Clark, appeared in court Tuesday and was immediately reprimanded by the judge for talking.

As he entered the courtroom at Marion County Superior Court, Lewis leaned back in his chair and said “guilty as charged,” interrupting court proceedings several times.

“You have the right to remain silent and I expect you to exercise that right on me,” Judge Angela Davis said. When Lewis, 55, continued, she again told him to “stop talking.”

Davis entered a not guilty plea on Lewis’ behalf and said she would not accept a guilty plea at a preliminary hearing. She assigned public defender Gavin Uitvlugt to Lewis’ case.

Lewis was ordered held on $50,000 bail, and Davis ordered him to stay away from Indianapolis basketball arenas Gainbridge Fieldhouse and Hinkle Fieldhouse — where Clark and the Indiana Fever play their home games — and to have no contact with the reigning WNBA Rookie of the Year .

Lewis faces up to six years in prison and a $10,000 fine.

Lewis is listed in court documents as living in Denton, Texas, but in court he said he lives in his vehicle, which he drove to Indianapolis. Lewis was arrested at an Indianapolis hotel after allegedly posting several explicit messages on social media, tagging Clark.

“I’m getting tickets. I’m sitting behind the bench,” read one message.

“They said I sent threatening texts.. but all I can think of is…CAITLIIIIIIIIIIIIINNNNN,” read another.

Additional posts contained sexually violent material.

Prosecutors wrote in court documents that the posts “caused Caitlin Clark to feel terrorized, intimidated, intimidated or threatened” and that an implicit or explicit threat was also made “with the intent to place Caitlin Clark in reasonable fear of sexual abuse.”

“It takes a lot of courage for women to come forward in these cases, and that’s why many don’t,” Marion County Prosecutor Ryan Mears said Monday. “In doing so, the victim sets an example for all women who deserve to live and work in Indy without the threat of sexual violence.

“We commend Pacers Sports & Entertainment and the Marion County Sheriff’s Office for the swift and serious action that led to this weekend’s arrest.”

Lewis is due back in Marion County Superior Court on March 31 for an arraignment.

In December, a 40-year-old Oregon man pleaded guilty to stalking UConn basketball star Paige Bueckers and received one year of probation and three years of probation.