Stalker of Lewis back in trouble

Jace Radke and Greg Tuttle

Monday, May 8, 2000 | 11:30 a.m.

The man who spent more than four years in prison for stalking Jerry Lewis is headed back to Las Vegas after the FBI arrested him in Wyoming in connection with a threatening letter to the entertainer.

Gary Benson, 56, of Sheridan, Wyo., faces charges of aggravated stalking and violating an extended protective order. He was arrested Thursday in Wyoming, FBI spokesman Joseph Dickey said, and has since agreed to be brought to Las Vegas.

Lewis received a letter at his Las Vegas home on April 11 that read, "Dear Jerry, Your Dead," Dickey said. The letter was signed, "Your friend, Gary Benson."

The envelope was dated April 5 and had a postmark of Casper, Wyo. Benson was arrested at a Sheridan County Department of Veterans Affairs hospital.

In 1989 Lewis obtained for his then-housekeeper a lengthy police record on Benson after she told Lewis that she planned to marry Benson. She in turn told Benson about the report, which sparked a string of harassing phone calls to Lewis' home and office.

After a lengthy investigation, Benson was arrested on Feb. 4, 1994. After a plea bargain was reached Benson was sentenced on May 15, 1995, to six years in prison on one count of aggravated stalking.

The sentence was suspended on the condition that Benson get mental health counseling, but in early 1998 Benson stopped going to treatment sessions at the John Tyler Center in Salt Lake City. At the same time Lewis reported getting a threatening phone call.

In July 1998 Benson's probation was revoked. He was released in September 1999 and was warned by Justice of the Peace Jennifer Togliatti to stay away from Lewis.