WASHINGTON — New court documents are giving more details into what happened in the early morning hours of Jan. 7 when 13-year-old Karon Blake was shot and killed.
The person accused of killing Karon was identified Tuesday, weeks after the deadly shooting happened. Jason Michael Lewis turned himself in to D.C. police at 8 a.m. on charges of second-degree murder while armed. He appeared in court Tuesday afternoon where he pleaded not guilty to the charges and a judge ordered Lewis to be held without bond.
WUSA9 has obtained a copy of the arrest warrant filed for Lewis. The court document brings new details to light as to what happened and why Lewis is now facing charges.
What happened on Jan 7?
The Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) says officers were called for help at 3:56 a.m. in regards to a shooting in the 1000 block of Quincy Street, Northeast. When officers arrived, they found Karon shot and Lewis giving the boy chest compressions.
According to the arrest warrant, Lewis told officers he was in bed when he heard some noise outside, which prompted him to go downstairs because he did not know if someone was trying to come into his house. He told investigators he then saw a car and "youngsters" in black and yelled, "Hey, what are y'all doing?"
Lewis claimed Karon ran toward him as he was standing in the entryway to his courtyard. While speaking with the officer, Lewis reportedly claimed he only fired two gunshots.
In the arrest warrant, officers say Lewis heard Karon say "I'm a kid, I'm a kid," before collapsing on Quincy Street. Lewis's fiance called police for help as he did chest compressions on the teen while waiting for first responders to arrive.
Lewis told police he didn't want to hurt Karon and questioned why the teen ran right toward him. Police did not find any firearms or weapons on or near Karon at the time of the shooting. The only firearm recovered from the scene was the one belonging to Lewis.
Karon was taken to Children's National Hospital for help. Less than an hour after the shooting, Karon was pronounced dead at 4:39 a.m.
The teen's body was taken to the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner for an autopsy. It was then determined Karon died from multiple gunshot wounds to the body and his death was ruled a homicide.
Damaged and Stolen Cars
According to the arrest warrant, there had been several theft-from-auto reports in the neighborhood recently. One sergeant said they had responded to two reports of theft from cars prior to the shooting.
In the warrant, police say they found a gray Kia Sportage with Maryland plates was found in an alley just east of where the shooting happened. The car was at a stop but the gear was found in reverse, the driver door was open and the car had visible damage. Both rear passenger windows were shattered.
Three other cars in the area were also damaged:
- A white Kia Soul with a shattered driver's window
- An Audi A8L with a shattered window
- A white Cadillac XT6 with multiple circular strike marks
The Blink Camera
An MPD officer, only named as Officer Jackson in the arrest warrant, noticed a Blink camera on a nearby external wall of Lewis's townhouse. Jackson asked Lewis if the camera worked and Lewis confirmed that it did.
Blink cameras are home security devices that capture audio and video due to motion detection.
Lewis provided police with a phone to view the surveillance footage from the Blink camera, which did not appear to capture the shooting.
According to recorded body worn camera footage, Lewis told police that Karon ran directly toward him as he was standing in his courtyard. When he was asked how far Karon got toward him, Lewis reportedly stated that Karon got to the front of his gate, however, MPD officials say there is no footage showing Karon coming onto Lewis's property.
When Jackson asked Lewis to again recount what happened, Lewis said he was in bed when he heard a noise, that he grabbed his gun and went downstairs thinking someone may be at his door. He walked out to his unlocked gate, saw the "youngsters" and yelled "hey" to them before he said Karon sprinted toward his gate.
When police reached out to Amazon in regards to the camera's footage, Amazon told MPD they had no video data from 3 to 4:15 a.m. on Jan. 7.
>Read the full arrest warrant below:
Witness Reports
According to the arrest warrant, MPD asked Lewis to come into the office to provide a statement of events. He agreed and was informed that he was not under arrest. He then told police he wished to consult with an attorney.
Detectives then began interviewing witnesses.
An individual only referred to as Witness-1 (W-1) was speaking to officers, when they received a phone call from a person identifying themselves as Lewis's attorney. W-1 said they wished to speak to the attorney, who then informed police W-1 would not be answering any additional questions.
W-1 later returned for a second interview. Police say W-1 confirmed Lewis was in bed when he heard a noise and went to check on it. According to the arrest warrant, W-1 also got out of bed and went to a window that overlooks the street where the shooting occurred.
W-1 told officers they saw two people standing on the driver's side of Lewis's car, an Audi parked on the street, one person by the driver's door and another by the left passenger door. W-1 then claimed that Lewis could see a vehicle, which they referred to as the "getaway vehicle" parked in the nearby alley.
W-1 told officers they heard Lewis shout "hey" and then watched as one of the people "jetted" toward "Jason." They claim the second person ran toward the "getaway vehicle" which began fleeing in reverse. That is when W-1 said they heard two gunshots.
W-1 told officers they believed the people outside were adults and didn't even know Karon was a kid until they saw it on the news.
W-1 explained that they heard the first shot after the person "charged" as Lewis, adding that there was a pause and then they heard a second gunshot and the person disappeared from their view behind a wall.
Several more witnesses were interviewed, many of whom were owners of the cars found in the area that had been damaged. A fifth person, only referred to as Witness 5 (W-5), was awake at home in the area when the incident unfolded.
W-5 told officers they heard noises like "a shovel scrapping against pavement" and decided to look outside from a window that faces the alley south of Quincy Street. W-5 claims they went to look out the window believing the noise was someone may be breaking into vehicles.
W-5 explained they didn't see anything initially but then heard a man yell "hey" and then heard the gunshot. W-5 told police they are familiar with weapons and believed the gunfire to have come from a rifle and that within around five seconds they heard "three to five" more gunshots but that they were not as loud as the first.
Surveillance Videos & A Time Line
The arrest warrant includes images captured by surveillance videos, giving a timeline of events for Jan. 7.
EDITOR'S NOTE: The camera's time stamp is approximately 15-16 minutes behind the actual time, according to police.
03:36:49 A.M. - A Kia Sportage passes by the 1000 block of Quincy Street.
03:37:12 A.M. - The Kia Sportage returns and backs into the nearby alley
03:37:29 A.M. - Two people get out of the Kia Sportage
03:37:40 A.M. - The two people walk up to a Cadillac parked on Quincy Street.
03:39:02 A.M. - Both people begin to walk away with flashlights on
03:39:40 A.M. - Lewis appears
03:39:48 A.M. - One of the two people runs toward the alley and Kia Sportage
03:39:50 A.M. - The Kia Sportage begins driving in reverse, and a flash, consistent with that coming from a gun, is seen
03:39:51 A.M. - Karon runs toward the alley but then changes direction
03:39:56 A.M. - Lewis walks back toward the front door of his home before returning to the security gate
03:40:41 A.M. - Lewis walks back toward the front door
03:41:41 A.M. - Lewis returns to the security gate
03:44:27 A.M. - MPD unit arrives
The entire exchange appears to happen in less than 10 minutes.
The arrest warrant shows police were also able to gain footage from a Blink camera affixed to another home. The second Blink camera began recording video and audio at approximately 3:53 a.m.
According to the arrest warrant, the video shows Lewis exiting the front door and walking through a walled-in patio area. He appears to open the gate, step out to the pathway and raise his left arm in the direction of the alley, and a single gunshot is heard.
A camera on the front of Lewis's property captures the moment his arm was extended and the audio of a single gunshot.
After the first gunshot, police say there is a three-second pause before audio from various cameras indicates two to three more shots are fired. Police would later find three shell casings at the scene.
"Lewis is seen with his left arm extended, and muzzle flashes are depicted," the arrest warrant reads. "Lewis is depicted moving backward into the patio area as he fires the last two shots."
Video shows Karon running as Lewis fires in his direction, according to the arrest warrant. Karon can be heard yelling "I am sorry" numerous times, followed by "Please don't" and "No."
In the arrest warrant, police describe the moments Karon can be heard yelling "I am a kid," and "I am only 12," multiple times.
The court document goes on to allege Lewis walks back into the patio area and away from Karon with his gun in his left hand. He reportedly exhales as he walks to the front door of his home. A minute later, he leaves the house and walks through the patio area to the front gate.
Lewis Appears In Court
On Jan. 31, Lewis turned himself in to police on a charge of second-degree murder while armed.
He appeared before a judge several hours later where he pleaded not guilty to the charges. His lawyer requested Lewis be released to his home while awaiting trial given that Lewis is a father of four with ties to the community and no criminal history. That request was denied as the judge said given that the crime happened at the threshold of his home.
Lewis' attorney, Lee Smith, offered a statement saying Lewis maintains his innocence in this case.
"While this is certainly a tragedy, once all the facts are heard, I believe that a jury will find that there was no crime here," the statement reads. "Mr. Lewis has dedicated his career to mentoring and supporting youth in the District of Columbia, which only adds to how distraught he is over the death of Karon Blake. Mr. Lewis and his family offer heartfelt condolences to Karon's family and other loved ones."
Lewis is being held without bond. His next court appearance is scheduled for Feb. 13.