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Left inset: Karon Blake (WRC). Right inset: Jason Lewis (WUSA). Background: The location where Karon was killed. (WRC).
A man from Washington, D.C., has learned his fate in the shooting death of a 13-year-old boy killed outside the shooter’s home in 2023.
Jason Lewis, 42, was sentenced to 12½ years in prison on Friday for the killing of Karon Blake, the U.S. Attorney’s Office announced in a press release. Lewis was convicted in August of voluntary manslaughter, assault with a dangerous weapon, and firearm charges.
Lewis, a father of a young daughter and former city government employee at the Department of Parks and Recreation, apologized in a letter sent to the judge.
“Everything I’ve committed myself to in reference to giving young people opportunities to grow, learn and progress has felt in vain,” he wrote, local NBC affiliate WRC reported. “I wrecked so much that night.”
The shooting happened before dawn on Jan. 7, 2023, in the 1000 block of Quincy Street, NE, in Washington D.C. Police responded to the location for the report of a shooting at 3:56 a.m. The victim was taken to a hospital, where he died.
Lewis said he was in bed when he heard a noise. He got his gun, described by police as a black Smith and Wesson M&P .40 caliber semi-automatic pistol, and checked outside, police said.
“Lewis observed the decedent by a white vehicle (Kia Soul) parked on the north side of the street,” police wrote. “Lewis reported he yelled, ‘Hey’ to the decedent, and the decedent ran straight (‘bee-lined’) toward him in a full sprint to the front of his gate.”
Lewis told police he fired only twice, though officers said they found three bullet casings. They determined he fired twice at Blake and once at the Kia.
After Lewis fired his weapon, Karon yelled, “I’m a kid. I’m a kid,” and collapsed, Law&Crime reported, citing the affidavit.
At his trial, Lewis testified it was self-defense.
“I saw a pistol inside the car, the driver’s seat. I saw a flash and heard a bang. I fired. I thought it was a gun. I thought I was being shot at. In my peripheral vision, I saw someone charging at me. I saw a person. I feared for my safety. I feared for my life. I fired two shots,” he said.
The victim’s mother, Londen Blake, spoke out after her son’s death.
“He took my baby, my firstborn,” she said.