Man who shot Lexington County sheriff’s deputies identified
The man who the Lexington County sheriff said shot two deputies Sunday was publicly identified the following day.
Albertus David Lewis was involved in a shootout where the 27-year-old and two deputies were hit by gunfire, the sheriff’s department said on Twitter.
Sheriff Jay Koon said both deputies are in stable condition. Further information on the deputies was not available.
On Monday, the sheriff’s department said Lewis was being treated for injuries and “is expected to survive.”
Charges against Lewis from the shooting are pending, according to the tweet. Information on unrelated charges was not available.
Lewis is familiar to the sheriff’s department, which said deputies have been dispatched to his home in the Woodland Village Apartments six times since April. The apartment complex on Bush River Road is near the junction with Interstate 20 at Exit 63.
When deputies responded to a domestic violence call at 4 p.m. Sunday, it was the second time that day the sheriff’s department was dispatched to Lewis’ apartment, according to the tweet.
A woman who called law enforcement said Lewis was going to set something on fire, Koon said.
Lewis was armed with a handgun and had a small child in his arms when deputies arrived, according to Koon. After being shot, two deputies returned fire and hit Lewis, the sheriff said. All three were transported to the hospital.
“God was with them today,” Koon said on Sunday of the deputies. “Everything should check out with them and (they) should make a full recovery.”
The South Carolina Law Enforcement Division is investigating the shooting. SLED said it was the 27th officer-involved shooting in South Carolina in 2020 and first this year involving Lexington County Sheriff’s Department.
A murder charge in Richland County from a July 2017 arrest is one of several charges pending against Lewis, court records show. Lewis was released after he posted $150,000 bond in June 2019, according to court records.
The Richland County Sheriff’s Department said Lewis shot his girlfriend, 20-year-old Mayra Sanchez, and took her to an area hospital where he left her alone in a wheelchair, The State previously reported. Sanchez was treated for about two hours and was declared dead, Richland County Coroner Gary Watts said.
Lewis is also facing marijuana possession and obstructing justice charges in Richland County from 2017, court records show.
In 2016, Lewis was convicted on a charge of receiving stolen goods valued at $2,000 or less, and was fined $1,092.50, according to Richland County court records.
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This story was originally published August 10, 2020 at 12:19 PM.
