Jury to decide fate of D.C. gun owner who shot teen breaking into cars

Jury deliberations began Thursday in the trial of Jason Lewis, a D.C. resident and legal gun owner charged with murder in the death of Karon Blake, a 13-year-old who was fatally shot while he and others were breaking into cars in the early morning hours of Jan. 7, 2023.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Shauna Payyappilly called the case against the 42-year-old District man "straightforward" and in her closing arguments replayed video footage that appeared to show the defendant opening fire first on the burglars who were breaking into his car outside his home in the 1000 block of Quincy Street Northeast.

Lawful gun owners in the District are not allowed to use lethal force to defend their property.

The prosecution also played for jurors audio captured on surveillance microphones of Karon pleading with Mr. Lewis that he was “only 12” and “just a kid.”

“Karon should not have been breaking into cars that day, but he did not deserve to die in someone’s garden begging for his life,” Ms. Payyappilly told the jurors.

Defense attorney Ed Ungvarsky told jurors the thieves fired at Mr. Lewis first and questioned the reliability of the surveillance camera and microphone evidence cited by the prosecution. He reminded the jury that a neighbor testified about hearing the initial shot followed by at least three more.

Mr. Lewis testified that he shot back when he was fired upon. Two of those shots hit the 13-year-old, who died at a hospital shortly afterward.

In his closing remarks, Mr. Ungvarsky focused on the character witnesses who vouched for Mr. Lewis’ clean record and work with troubled youth.

The surveillance cameras, many of which came from Mr. Lewis’ own home, also captured the defendant performing CPR on the dying boy.

He can be heard on the 911 call saying to himself “Stay with me youngin’” as he pumped Karon’s chest in a desperate attempt to revive him.

Mr. Lewis waited outside his home for Metropolitan Police officers responding to the scene and quickly shared his surveillance footage and showed them into his home.

“He cooperated with police — that’s a sign of innocence,” Mr. Ungvarsky said. “Guilty people don’t do CPR, they’d be deleting videos.”