A lawyer arrested for throwing a “foul smelling” brown liquid on his ex-girlfriend could dodge jail under a plea deal reached last week.
Corporate attorney Luke Richbourg was charged in September 2016 with harassing and menacing Michelle Sun, who accused him of repeatedly texting her and making creepy calls when she tried to break up with him.
The unsettling messages culminated in Richbourg approaching her on the street outside her Manhattan home and dousing her with a stinky substance, Sun claimed.
Richbourg pleaded guilty to a violation, agreeing to get mental health counseling, and abide by an order of protection requiring him to stay away from Sun.
The case will be sealed if he stays out of trouble for more than a year, the Manhattan DA’s office said.
In court, prosecutors cited the attorney’s remorse and lack of criminal history as factors in the plea deal, which was reached over the objections of Sun’s lawyer, Sergio Villaverde.
Villaverde asked prosecutors to reconsider the deal and meet with Sun, who is suing Richbourg in Manhattan Supreme Court for $15 million for emotional distress.
“We are very concerned that this is insufficient under the circumstances,” he wrote, noting that when Sun learned the deal wouldn’t be reconsidered, she “left the building in tears.”
The DA declined comment on Villaverde’s objections.
David J. Cohen, a lawyer for Richbourg, said the attorney had the “utmost confidence in the legal process” and would address Sun’s civil lawsuit “in its proper forum.”