Jury Rejects Self-Defense Claim In Case Involving Fatal Shooting Of 13-Year-Old In DC: Feds

Jason Lewis, 42, was found guilty by a Superior Court jury for the January 2023 killing of Karon Blake in the 1000 block of Quincy Street NE.

Specifically, Lewis was convicted of three counts of possession of a firearm during a crime of violence, two counts of assault with a dangerous weapon, and one count of voluntary manslaughter while armed, committed against a minor.

Prosecutors say that at approximately 4 a.m. on Jan. 7, 2023, Lewis armed himself with a fully-loaded handgun and went outside his home in the 1000 block of Quincy Street.

He was caught on camera leaving his home, aiming and firing at two people who were breaking into cars.

After Lewis fired at those two people, hitting the car that one was driving, Blake then ran in Lewis’s direction and Lewis fired two shots into the teen's left side, killing him.

The gun involved in the fatal shooting was legally registered, according to police.

After shooting Blake, investigators said that Lewis performed CPR on the teen before calling the police to report the incident. He was then placed on administrative leave from his job in DC amid the investigation.

At trial, Lewis alleged that he was acting in self-defense because the two people that he initially fired at threatened him, though the jury rejected that notion.

Blake, a Northeast, DC native, was a student at Brookland Middle School, which has reportedly felt a void since his death.

“Karon began his educational journey at Noyes (Elementary School),” an email sent to his school community read following his death. “Last year he was promoted to (Brookland Middle School) as a sixth-grade scholar.

“He was a quiet and inquisitive scholar who loved fashion and football. Although he loved his neighborhood, he loved Brookland MS (the faculty and his peers) and the structure it presented to him even more.”

When he is sentenced in October, Lewis faces up to 45 years in prison.

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