Mainstreet Daily News
Lake City Police Department (LCPD) officers arrested a suspect in an alleged shooting incident on Sunday and found a deceased woman parked at a McDonald’s.
In two LCPD releases, officers responded to the area of NE Martin Luther King Street and NE Broadway Avenue after 12 a.m. to the report of gunfire.
When officers arrived, they found shell casings in a yard and interviewed people in the area who said that several subjects were standing in the front yard when they heard gunfire for the NE Colorado Terrace and NE Montana Street intersection. The subjects in the yard did not see who was shooting at them, but returned fire in that direction and then fled the area, according to the release.
Officers recovered 9 mm, .40 caliber and .223 caliber rifle casings at the scene and found that at least one occupied residence nearby was hit, but no one was hurt.
On Sunday evening, LCPD provided additional patrols in the area as part of a Mother’s Day operation and observed a vehicle reportedly involved in the shooting. Officers drove behind the vehicle and observed the driver making movements toward his center console. Officers stopped the vehicle for a traffic infraction and noticed the driver moving around in the vehicle, LCPD reported.
According to the release, during the traffic stop officers discovered a bag of pills in the vehicle. As the driver—identified as Jerry Lewis, 32, of Lake City—was removed from the vehicle, he threw a balled-up piece of aluminum foil on the ground.
Lewis then attempted to flee but was apprehended. Officers searched the foil ball and found it to contain methamphetamine. After searching the car, officers found Xanax, crack cocaine, marijuana and a .40 caliber handgun.
Investigators are analyzing the ammunition found in Lewis’ vehicle to compare it to shell casings found during previous shooting incidents.
After officers arrested Lewis, they took him to Columbia County Detention Facility, where he is being held on a $92,000 bond.
Also on Sunday, LCPD officers responded to the McDonald’s on US 90 West and found a female subject unresponsive in her vehicle. Witnesses told officers she appeared deceased and was slumped down in her vehicle.
Emergency responders gained entry to the vehicle, and the woman was pronounced dead on the scene. The cause of death is under investigation.
“At this time, we have no reason to believe this woman died as a result of a violent crime,” Lake City Police Chief Gerald Butler said in a statement. “It is, however, abnormal and we will be further investigating to determine why she passed the way she did.”
Investigators are withholding the name of the woman, pending notification of family.