(Lawrenceburg, IN) – Jurors in Dearborn County on Friday, February 16 convicted a Dillsboro man of Intimidation (Level 6 felony) and on a Habitual Offender Sentencing Enhancement.
38-year-old Billy Gene Luke is currently serving time in the Indiana Department of Corrections on a Stalking conviction stemming from a 2018 Dearborn Circuit Court case, and was accused of threatening his former defense attorney and his wife and child from a prison cell.
Dearborn County Prosecutor Lynn Deddens says Luke wrote a letter that contained several threats and comments about acts he would commit against the family when he’s released from prison.
“It is horrible that an attorney who undertook the defense of Mr. Luke and vigorously represented him on a criminal misdemeanor case from 2012 must now worry about the safety of his wife and child,” Deddens said. “The threats Luke made involved violent, horrendous acts against individuals who are not in the legal system, but rather innocent victims. I am glad that jurors saw the evidence and convicted Luke.”
Deddens commended the work of Chief Deputy Prosecutor John Watson and Jeff Wilson in trying the case. She also thanked Dearborn County Sheriff’s Detective Gena Allen for her investigation efforts.
A conviction on the Intimidation count carries a maximum sentence of two-and-a-half years. The Habitual Offender Sentencing Enhancement adds two-and-a-half to six years.
Luke could up to eight-and-a-half years when he’s sentenced on March 11 in Dearborn Superior Court II by Judge Sally McLaughlin.
