An Indiana woman has been sentenced to 10 years in prison for firing at an appliance repairman after refusing to pay a $70 service fee. Marion County Superior Judge Charles F. Miller sentenced 45-year-old Reba LaJoy Wilson on Monday to a decade in a state correctional facility, according to court records.
Wilson had pleaded guilty to intimidation involving the use of a deadly weapon and unlawful possession of a firearm by a serious violent felon. As part of a plea agreement, prosecutors dropped charges of criminal confinement, criminal recklessness and pointing a firearm at another person.
The case arose from an incident at Wilson’s Indianapolis home in March 2024. Self-employed appliance repair technician Nathaniel Baird had been called to inspect a clothes dryer that was not heating.
After diagnosing the problem, Baird told Wilson that she owed him the standard $70 house-call fee. Wilson reportedly refused to pay, arguing that the dryer was still covered by a warranty.
“She said, ‘I don’t want to pay that.’ I said, ‘Well, I don’t work for free,’” Baird told WTHR. “So, I went to leave, and she pointed a gun at me right in the front of her house and forced me to stay there and said, ‘You’re going to fix my dryer.’”
Wilson allegedly stood in front of the home’s main entrance while pointing a black and silver handgun at Baird. The repairman pretended that he was returning to work on the appliance before attempting to escape through the back door.
As Baird ran from the house, Wilson fired a shot in his direction while shouting, “You’re lucky I don’t kill you.” Baird said he did not look back while fleeing but “heard one shot” before Wilson yelled, “I’ll pop a cap in your a—!” He managed to reach his truck and called 911.
Police later searched Wilson’s home under a warrant. Investigators reportedly recovered a black and silver Smith & Wesson handgun hidden beneath a couch. They also found a spent shell casing on top of the dryer’s broken door in the kitchen.
Wilson initially denied that anything improper had happened when officers encountered her outside the residence. During the sentencing hearing, she asked the court to place her on home detention instead of sending her to prison. Wilson said she had multiple sclerosis and required access to appropriate medical care.
Judge Miller rejected the request and reportedly described Wilson as “unworthy” of community corrections. He also cited her criminal record, which included eight previous convictions, and noted that she had remained wanted on an outstanding warrant for nearly a year before being arrested.