Flowers are secured to a pole as a memorial to Karon Blake, 13, on the corner of Quincy Street NE and Michigan Avenue NE in the Brookland neighborhood of Washington, Tuesday, Jan. 10, 2023. The note reads, “Karon we will love and miss you dearly.” Karon Blake was shot and killed on the 1000 block of Quincy Street NE early morning Saturday, Jan. 7, 2023. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)
The man who killed Karon Blake, 13, opened fire while the victim was repeatedly saying “I’m a kid” and “I am sorry,” according to cops in Washington D.C.
Now Jason Michael Lewis, 41, is charged with second-degree murder. Lewis allegedly claimed that Blake, a stranger, ran toward him in the early morning hours of Jan. 7.
The 41-year-old said he was originally 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. He allegedly asserted that Blake ran at him.
“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.”
On Officer Jackson’s body worn camera footage, LEWIS said the decedent ran ‘directly towards (exact word indiscernible),’ and that he, LEWIS, was standing in the entryway to his courtyard. Officer Jackson, who continued to watch the BLINK camera footage from LEWIS’ phone, informed MPD officials that there is no footage depicting the decedent coming onto LEWIS’ property.
Another witness, who was not named in the affidavit but referred to the defendant by his first name, claimed to have seen two people (one of them later identified as Blake) by Lewis’ Audi. This person allegedly maintained that there was also a getaway vehicle, the Kia, parked in an alley. Police claimed to have gotten recent theft-from-auto reports in the neighborhood.
“W-1 reported that the individual who was at the driver door looked over his right shoulder, and ‘jetted’ toward ‘Jason,'” the affidavit stated. Meanwhile, the other person fled toward the alley, and the “getaway vehicle” fled in reverse.
Lewis allegedly 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.
“LEWIS said after he fired his weapon, the decedent yelled, ‘I’m a kid, I’m a kid,’ and collapsed by 1031 Quincy Street, Northeast,” police wrote.
Police reviewed local surveillance footage.
“The decedent is depicted running in front of 1031-1033 Quincy Street, Northeast, as LEWIS is firing in his direction,” they wrote. “Red arrows depict the decedent.”
Jason Michael Lewis shot and killed 13-year-old Karon Blake, police said. (Image: Metropolitan Police Department)
Officers claim Blake yelled “numerous times” statements like:
- “I am sorry.”
- “Please don’t.”
- “No.”
- “I am a kid.”
- “I am only 12.”
“As Officer Jackson approached the scene, he observed an individual, ultimately identified as the defendant, Jason Michael LEWIS, performing chest compressions on the decedent,” police wrote in an affidavit. “LEWIS informed the officer of the location of his firearm and informed the officer that the decedent had run toward his house and that he had shot the decedent.”
Blake was “unconscious and unresponsive,” suffering from gunshot wounds. He died at a hospital.
A preliminary hearing is scheduled for Feb. 13. Lewis is held without bond.