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D.C. man charged with killing 13-year-old he said was breaking into cars
Hat tip, DCist
LOCAL CRIME & PUBLIC SAFETY
D.C. man charged with killing 13-year-old he said was breaking into cars
Jason Lewis, who works for the D.C. Department of Parks and Recreation, turned himself in Tuesday on a second-degree murder charge, his attorney said
By Peter Hermann, Paul Duggan and Keith L. Alexander
Updated January 31, 2023 at 1:08 p.m. EST | Published January 31, 2023 at 8:32 a.m. EST
A man who authorities say fatally shot a 13-year-old he claimed to have seen breaking into vehicles earlier this month in Northeast Washington surrendered to authorities Tuesday morning after he was charged with second-degree murder while armed, authorities said. ... Jason Michael Lewis, 41, who works for the D.C. Department of Parks and Recreation, was ordered to remain in custody at an initial appearance in D.C. Superior Court on Tuesday afternoon. His attorney said his client was his client was pleading not guilty, and that the charge was unsubstantiated. ... “The public will see, no crime was committed here,” said the attorney, Lee Smith.
D.C. Police Chief Robert J. Contee III, speaking at a news conference, said investigators found discrepancies between Lewis’s initial account and evidence uncovered later by detectives. ... “Anytime we have a loss of life, especially that of a child, that’s just something that pierces my soul,” Contee said. “Here we have a kid who is dead who should not be.”
The decision to charge Lewis came about three weeks after the Jan. 7 shooting of Karon Blake, an incident that fueled tensions in D.C., as residents, activists and lawmakers pushed for the shooter to be publicly identified and held accountable.
The incident occurred shortly before 4 a.m. in the 1000 block of Quincy Street NE, across the street from Brookland Middle School, which Karon attended. According to an arrest warrant application filed in court on Tuesday, Lewis and a person inside Lewis’s apartment watching from a window told police that Karon charged at Lewis, who was in the courtyard outside his home. The person inside the apartment claimed the youth got to within about five feet of Lewis when he fired — though police noted there was not footage of the youth coming onto the property itself.
{snip}
Emily Davies contributed to this report.
This is a developing story and will be updated.
By Peter Hermann
Peter Hermann covers crime for The Washington Post. He previously worked for the Baltimore Sun for 22 years, covering a Baltimore suburb and then the Baltimore Police Department. Twitter https://twitter.com/phscoop
By Paul Duggan
Paul Duggan is a staff writer covering crime and justice. Since joining The Washington Post in 1987, he has worked as a general assignment reporter, assignment editor and national correspondent. Twitter https://twitter.com/dugganwapo
By Keith L. Alexander
Keith L. Alexander covers crime and courts, specifically D.C. Superior Court cases, for The Washington Post. Alexander was part of the Pulitzer Prize-winning team that investigated fatal police shootings across the nation in 2015. He joined The Post in 2001. He previously worked as a reporter for USA Today, BusinessWeek and The Dayton Daily News. Twitter https://twitter.com/keithlalexander
D.C. man charged with killing 13-year-old he said was breaking into cars
Jason Lewis, who works for the D.C. Department of Parks and Recreation, turned himself in Tuesday on a second-degree murder charge, his attorney said
By Peter Hermann, Paul Duggan and Keith L. Alexander
Updated January 31, 2023 at 1:08 p.m. EST | Published January 31, 2023 at 8:32 a.m. EST
A man who authorities say fatally shot a 13-year-old he claimed to have seen breaking into vehicles earlier this month in Northeast Washington surrendered to authorities Tuesday morning after he was charged with second-degree murder while armed, authorities said. ... Jason Michael Lewis, 41, who works for the D.C. Department of Parks and Recreation, was ordered to remain in custody at an initial appearance in D.C. Superior Court on Tuesday afternoon. His attorney said his client was his client was pleading not guilty, and that the charge was unsubstantiated. ... “The public will see, no crime was committed here,” said the attorney, Lee Smith.
D.C. Police Chief Robert J. Contee III, speaking at a news conference, said investigators found discrepancies between Lewis’s initial account and evidence uncovered later by detectives. ... “Anytime we have a loss of life, especially that of a child, that’s just something that pierces my soul,” Contee said. “Here we have a kid who is dead who should not be.”
The decision to charge Lewis came about three weeks after the Jan. 7 shooting of Karon Blake, an incident that fueled tensions in D.C., as residents, activists and lawmakers pushed for the shooter to be publicly identified and held accountable.
The incident occurred shortly before 4 a.m. in the 1000 block of Quincy Street NE, across the street from Brookland Middle School, which Karon attended. According to an arrest warrant application filed in court on Tuesday, Lewis and a person inside Lewis’s apartment watching from a window told police that Karon charged at Lewis, who was in the courtyard outside his home. The person inside the apartment claimed the youth got to within about five feet of Lewis when he fired — though police noted there was not footage of the youth coming onto the property itself.
{snip}
Emily Davies contributed to this report.
This is a developing story and will be updated.
By Peter Hermann
Peter Hermann covers crime for The Washington Post. He previously worked for the Baltimore Sun for 22 years, covering a Baltimore suburb and then the Baltimore Police Department. Twitter https://twitter.com/phscoop
By Paul Duggan
Paul Duggan is a staff writer covering crime and justice. Since joining The Washington Post in 1987, he has worked as a general assignment reporter, assignment editor and national correspondent. Twitter https://twitter.com/dugganwapo
By Keith L. Alexander
Keith L. Alexander covers crime and courts, specifically D.C. Superior Court cases, for The Washington Post. Alexander was part of the Pulitzer Prize-winning team that investigated fatal police shootings across the nation in 2015. He joined The Post in 2001. He previously worked as a reporter for USA Today, BusinessWeek and The Dayton Daily News. Twitter https://twitter.com/keithlalexander