D.C. gun owner found guilty in fatal shooting of teen breaking into cars

A D.C. jury on Friday found legal gun owner Jason Lewis guilty of manslaughter in the fatal shooting of 13-year-old Karon Blake when the teen was breaking into cars last year.

Lewis was convicted in the Jan. 7, 2023, predawn slaying that started with the 42-year-old walking out of his house and opening fire on a group of teens who had busted out the window of his car on the 1000 block of Quincy Street NE.

The gunfire sent the teens scrambling for cover, and Karon unwittingly ran right toward Lewis, who shot the boy twice. Karon died at a hospital a short time later.

Legal gun owners in the District cannot use deadly force to defend property.

“By any count, what happened that night was a tragedy,” D.C. Superior Court Judge Anthony Epstein said after the verdict was delivered.

Lewis beat the most serious charge — second-degree murder — but was convicted of weapons assault charges in the case.

None of Karon’s family members were in the courtroom when the verdict was handed down.

Lewis and his attorney, Edward Ungvarsky, both declined to comment on the verdict.

Lewis, a longtime former employee with the D.C. Department of Parks and Recreation who often worked with troubled youth, sought the trial to argue he shot the teen in self-defense after he said the thieves’ getaway driver took aim at him first.

But a lack of video evidence and weak testimony from Lewis on the witness stand convinced the jury that such an act likely didn’t occur.

Judge Epstein called Lewis’ trustworthiness into question when discussing whether to jail him before his sentencing hearing.

The judge said Lewis wasn’t telling the truth about the alleged gunshot from the getaway driver. He also suggested Lewis had his wife go into hiding while the trial was underway so she couldn’t testify.

Prosecutors said they attempted to subpoena Lewis’ wife, but she wasn’t home when authorities went to serve her a bench warrant.

Judge Epstein allowed Lewis to remain on GPS-monitoring release while he awaits sentencing.

Lewis is scheduled to return to court Oct. 25.