Staff report

GAINESVILLE, Fla. – Benjamin Tyrell Lewis, 41, was arrested yesterday on a warrant for allegedly shooting into a vehicle occupied by two adults and two children.

At about 10 p.m. on July 29, the victim, who had previously dated Lewis, went to Lewis’s apartment at Fairview Apartments (1600 block of NE 16th Avenue) to get her cell phone, which was pinging at that location. She got into a verbal argument with Lewis that escalated into a physical fight, and another woman joined in after Lewis reportedly told the woman to “get [the victim].”

The victim’s mother arrived and approached the group with a crowbar, causing all of them to disengage, and the victim and her mother got into a vehicle.

Lewis allegedly walked out of his apartment with a handgun and started yelling at the victim and her mother, saying he was going to kill them. He allegedly fired one round at the front tire of the vehicle but missed. The second round went directly through the vehicle’s windshield and ricocheted into the dashboard; during this time, Lewis allegedly said he was going to kill everyone inside the vehicle, which included two children in the back seat.

The victims said Lewis racked the slide of the firearm multiple times after the second shot, and the victims can reportedly be heard on surveillance video, screaming, “You shot the car!”; Lewis reportedly responded, “Damn right, I did.” The victims then drove away.

A responding Gainesville Police Department officer reportedly found a bullet hole in the windshield of the vehicle and noted that the bullet could have hit anyone inside the vehicle. Two spent shell casings were reportedly found in front of Lewis’s apartment, and four live rounds were found in the same area, which is consistent with the victims’ account that Lewis racked the slide several times. The officer also noted that a majority of the incident was captured on video surveillance, including audio of Lewis admitting he shot at the vehicle.

Lewis has been charged with four counts of attempted premeditated homicide, firing a weapon into a vehicle, and domestic battery. He has three felony convictions (non-violent) and four misdemeanor convictions (non-violent); he is also facing a sworn complaint for domestic battery from April 2025. Judge Susan Miller-Jones ordered him held without bail pending a hearing on a motion from the State Attorney’s office to hold him without bail until trial; if the judge denies the motion, bail will be set at that hearing.

Articles about arrests are based on reports from law enforcement agencies. The charges listed are taken from the arrest report and/or court records and are only accusations. All suspects are innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.