- A guy has been detained after he killed a middle school student.
- Lewis shot and killed 13-year-old Karon Blake outside his home.
- The docs state that Karon can be heard repeatedly shouting “I’m sorry, I’m a kid.”
A guy has been detained in Washington and charged with murder after he shot and killed a middle school student Karon Blake who he believed was attempting to break into a car.
Following the issuance of an arrest warrant, Jason Lewis, 41, turned himself into police in Washington, DC, on Tuesday morning, according to Metropolitan Police Chief Robert Contee. According to court filings, Lewis, a worker for DC’s Department of Parks and Recreation, is charged with one count of second-degree murder while armed.
The accusation comes after Lewis shot and killed 13-year-old Karon Blake outside his home on January 7 at the crack of dawn. Lewis, a legally permitted holder of a concealed carry permit, told police that while he was asleep, he heard noises outside and “saw someone that looked to be fiddling with automobiles.”
Lewis reported to the police that he shouted, “Hey! what are y’all doing?, “Before Karon “bee-lined” at him “in a full sprint to the front of his gate “as per an affidavit included with the complaint. Lewis allegedly said that he then shot twice with his gun, hitting Karon.
However, the affidavit states that Lewis actually shot his gun at least three times. According to Contee, the initial shot was not fired at Karon but rather at a nearby “getaway vehicle,” which Lewis allegedly did not mention to the police. The car then started to back through the alley. Karon started to run in the direction of the car, but he soon turned around and sprinted along the sidewalk.
The docs state that Karon can be heard repeatedly shouting “I’m sorry,” “Please don’t,” “No,” “I’m a kid,” and “I’m only 12” as Lewis fires his pistol at the child. Lewis can be seen standing at his home’s open gate in pictures taken from surveillance cameras that are part of the affidavit.
“I don’t know if [Karon] knew that Mr Lewis was standing where he was standing, but, you know, it’s 4 o’clock in the morning. It’s dark out there,” Contee said.
Karon was taken to a nearby hospital where doctors declared him dead. According to court filings, the chief medical examiner for the District of Columbia determined that he died from numerous gunshot wounds and that homicide was the cause of death.
According to the police chief, surveillance footage showed Karon and a second person “peering into cars that were in the block in front of where Mr Lewis resides and they were going inside the cars.” He asserted, however, that the first shot Lewis fired “kind of set in motion the chain of events” that led to Karon’s death.
“Here we have a kid who’s dead who shouldn’t be,” Contee said. “I would hope that anybody with half of a heart would impact you in some way, shape, form, or fashion. This young man shouldn’t be dead.”
Lewis’s lawyer Lee Smith said in a statement that his client maintains his innocence.
Despite the fact that this is undoubtedly tragic, Smith predicted that a jury would determine there was no crime committed in this case. “Mr Lewis has devoted his professional life to mentoring and assisting young people in the District of Columbia, which further intensifies his sorrow over Karon Blake’s passing. The family of Karon and other loved ones have the sincere sympathies of Mr Lewis and his family.”
Lewis has reportedly been on administrative leave from the city, according to the Washington Post.
When asked why it took so long to press charges, Contee told reporters that authorities were tackling a self-defence claim “that needed to be overcome” and that investigators have been “worked around the clock” on the investigation.
Contee stated, “I’m not going to jump to judgement. We wanted to get to the bottom of this. “We wanted to do this right,” they said.
DC lacks cash bail, so Lewis is still being held without bond. Smith did reveal to BuzzFeed News that he intends to submit a motion for pretrial release. Online court records show that Lewis has a preliminary hearing scheduled on February 13 in court.
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