Man who shot deputies & used daughter as shield goes to prison, SC official says
A South Carolina man who shot two Lexington County Sheriff’s deputies is going to prison, according to the 11th Circuit Solicitor’s Office.
On March 30, 33-year-old Columbia resident Albertus David Lewis pleaded guilty to two counts of attempted murder for shooting two deputies in 2020, the solicitor’s office said in a news release.
Attempted murder carries a maximum sentence of 30 years in a South Carolina Department of Corrections prison, and Judge Debra McCaslin accepted the negotiated 30-year punishment for Lewis, according to the release.
“This outcome is a clear example of justice served for this act of violence against our deputies,” Lexington County Sheriff Jay Koon said in the release.
Under South Carolina law, attempted murder is a violent, most serious and “no parole” offense, the solicitor’s office said.
Two deputies down
Lewis’ conviction stems from an Aug. 9, 2020, incident.
At about 4:05 p.m. that day, deputies responded to a domestic violence complaint by Lewis’ girlfriend, according to the release. She told the emergency dispatcher that Lewis had a gun, he was threatening to kill her and would not let her leave with their daughter, the solicitor’s office said. She also said that Lewis was threatening to set something on fire, the sheriff’s department reported in 2020.
It was the second time that day deputies were dispatched to Lewis’ apartment in Woodland Village, according to the sheriff’s department. The apartment complex on Bush River Road is near the junction with Interstate 20 at Exit 63.
Lewis was armed with a handgun and had a small child in his arms when deputies arrived, the sheriff’s department said.
Lewis barricaded himself in the apartment and attempted to start a fire, the solicitor’s office said in the release. Deputies established a perimeter and attempted to call Lewis out of the apartment, according to the release.
Lewis had his 4-year-old daughter in his left arm and an article of clothing burning in his right hand, the solicitor’s office said.
Loud commands were given to Lewis to show his hands and come out, but the then-27-year-old man threw the flaming clothing on the rear concrete slab and squirted liquid on it, according to the release. He continued setting more clothing on fire and throwing them out the back door, the solicitor’s office said.
Lewis eventually exited the front door — using his daughter as a human shield — as deputies tried to detain him, according to the release. Lewis resisted arrest and shot both officers before the deputies returned fire and hit Lewis, officials said.
After Lewis was shot, he continued to resist arrest and bit two of the officers, according to the release.
When he was ultimately restrained Lewis, and the two deputies were taken to a local hospital, the sheriff’s department said.
One deputy was shot in the chest and leg, and his bulletproof vest stopped the bullet that hit his chest, the solicitor’s office said. The other deputy hit by gunfire was shot in the arm, according to the release.
“God was with them today,” Koon said in 2020 of the deputies that he expected to make a full recovery.
Information about the medical condition of Lewis’ daughter and girlfriend following the 2020 incident was not available, but no other injuries were reported.
“Like all of us, our law enforcement partners hope to return home safely each day,” Solicitor Rick Hubbard said in the release. “We owe it to them to rigorously prosecute any individual who threatens their physical safety.”
Criminal record and a woman’s death
Prior to the Aug. 9, 2020, incident, the sheriff’s department said that deputies had been dispatched to Lewis’ home in the Woodland Village Apartments six times since April 2020.
Lewis has been arrested multiple times prior to the Aug. 9 shooting, including past charges for burglaries, property crimes and drug possessions, officials said.
When the shooting occurred, a murder charge was pending against Lewis from a July 2017 arrest. The Richland County Sheriff’s Department said Lewis shot his then 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 2 hours and was declared dead, the Richland County Coroner’s Office said in 2017.
Lewis was released from jail after he posted $150,000 bond in June 2019, according to court records.
Lewis ultimately pleaded guilty to voluntary manslaughter in Sanchez’s death, and his 30-year prison term for that conviction will run concurrently with the 30-year sentence he just received in Lexington County, the solicitor’s office said.
On March 30, Lewis was taken to Kirkland Reception and Evaluation Center, prison records show. That’s on Broad River Road in Columbia.
The Aug. 9, 2020, shootings were investigated by the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division.
Senior Assistant Solicitor Sutania Fuller handled the prosecution of this case. David Mauldin was listed as Lewis’ attorney, Lexington County court records show.
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