A woman charged with the felony stalking of Fleetwood Mac guitarist Lindsey Buckingham must undergo a mental health evaluation by a clinical psychologist, who will prepare a report on whether she is competent to stand trial, a judge ruled Tuesday.
Michelle Dick, 55, appeared in court as her public defender asked that Dr. Karine Shakib-Beltran be allowed to examine Dick in custody and access her private medical history to assess whether she understands the charges filed against her in April. Prosecutors have charged her with six felonies and a misdemeanor after she allegedly assaulted Buckingham with a motor vehicle and hurled an unidentified substance at him amid a purported years-long stalking campaign.
Judge Robert S. Harrison of Los Angeles County’s mental health court granted the defense’s request to appoint Dr. Shakib-Beltran after Dick’s case was suspended last month, when a different public defender questioned Dick’s ability to assist in her own defense. A follow-up hearing is scheduled for Aug. 6.
Dick was arrested in Indiana in April after she allegedly confronted the famed musician in Santa Monica on March 25, despite a restraining order barring contact. She had been ordered to keep her distance from Buckingham due to an alleged pattern of harassment.
Dick pleaded not guilty to her seven charges on May 6 after authorities transported her back to California. In an amended complaint, prosecutors allege Dick repeatedly followed and made unwanted contact with Buckingham between Oct. 9, 2021, and March 25, 2026.
Prosecutors allege Dick assaulted Buckingham with a motor vehicle on March 19. They say she also vandalized Buckingham’s Mercedes-Benz S450 the same day, allegedly defacing the luxury car “with graffiti and other inscribed material.”
During the alleged incident on March 25, Dick purportedly tracked Buckingham to his location in Santa Monica and threw a substance at the 76-year-old musician before fleeing. A law enforcement source told Rolling Stone it wasn’t immediately clear if the substance was caustic. Buckingham was not injured.
Dick also faces a separate felony charge of making a criminal threat against Buckingham on Dec. 20, 2024. About a month earlier, Buckingham had sought a restraining order against Dick that accused her of “swatting” his house in November 2024. According to court filings, Dick allegedly called 911 and falsely reported that Buckingham’s son was suicidal and that gunshots had been fired at the family’s Brentwood home, prompting a large police response.
“When I answered the door, I was handcuffed and asked to step outside,” Buckingham wrote in a statement to the court obtained by Rolling Stone. “After 20 minutes of the police searching my house … I was let back into my house, shaken and fearful.”
An LAPD detective later contacted Dick using the same number and said she admitted making the call, court filings allege. Buckingham claims the harassment began in 2021 with repeated phone calls, threats, and delusional claims that he was Dick’s father. He also accused Dick of targeting his family and showing up outside his homes in Los Angeles.
A judge granted the restraining order in December 2024, requiring Dick to stay at least 100 yards away from Buckingham, his wife, and his son for five years. She was also ordered to keep her distance from their homes and vehicles and not contact them in any way.
Buckingham told the court that Dick had parked her car outside one of the homes that he shared with his wife. Police followed Dick from the address and later stopped and questioned her, capturing the exchange on a body-worn camera, the filings say.
“She began rambling about me being her father and suffocating her as a child,” Buckingham wrote. He said subsequent threats on Instagram were directed at his wife. “This incident terrified my wife as she feared for her safety. Given that Ms. Dick also knows my home address, I am terrified as well,” he wrote. (A rep for Buckingham did not respond to Rolling Stone‘s request for comment.)
Buckingham joined Fleetwood Mac in 1974 along with Stevie Nicks, his partner in the folk-rock duo Buckingham Nicks. He wrote and sang many of the group’s most iconic songs, including “Go Your Own Way.” Buckingham split from the band in 2018 after an alleged dispute over the timing of a world tour.
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