Detention Officer Jeremiah Story
Officer: Perry County Sheriff's Office, Detention Officer Jeremiah James Story
Date: 6/22/2022 Location: Perryville, AR FACTORS (1,2,3,9,12,14,15,21)
Perpetrator(s) Involved: Roderick Deshawn Lewis
Criminal Activity History/Involved: Yes, in 2002 Lewis was sentenced to 10 years in prison for an aggravated armed robbery conviction that occurred in February 2000 and then a life sentence for a capital murder he committed in August 2001.After being freed because of a supreme court ruling finding it was unconstitutional for teenagers to be given life sentences, Lewis was arrested in November 2021 for felony domestic violence. / Yes, Lewis was being processed for an arrest on drug and paraphernalia charges.
Mental Illness: Unknown.
Substance Abuse History/Involved: Unknown. / Yes, Lewis was intoxicated when he was arrested on drug charges.
Race/Sex/Age: Black/Male/37
What prompted the initial contact with the killer? At around 10:20 p.m. on June 22, 2022, jail trusty George White and Detention Officer Jeremiah Story were processing Roderick Lewis in the Perry County Detention Center after Lewis was brought in on an arrest for drug charges by Perry County Sheriff's Deputy Denise Youngblood. As part of that process, Officer Story and trusty White accompanied Lewis to the bathroom to have him change out of his street clothes and into the jail-issued clothing he would have to wear while in the facility.
Actions taken by subject toward police: When the two men tried to undress Lewis, he began fighting with them. During the struggle, Lewis accessed a 9mm handgun hidden in his shorts and used it to fatally shoot Officer Story.
Reactions by the police: Upon hearing the gunshot, Deputy Sheriff Sonny Clifford who had assisted on Lewis’ arrest, ran into the bathroom, and found trusty White struggling to keep control of Lewis whose gun had jammed after the first shot. Lewis was unaffected when the men used a Taser on him and remained impervious to it when Deputy Youngblood entered the bathroom and used her Taser on him as well. Along with the help of another inmate, the deputies were finally able to secure Lewis.
How murdered? Detention Officer Story was fatally shot while processing a prisoner whose hidden handgun was not discovered when the arresting officer searched him.
What could have been done differently for the officer to still be alive? A proper search of Lewis upon his arrest would have prevented this tragedy. The fact it was a female deputy that arrested Lewis raises the possibility she may have been hesitant to properly feel around his groin area where the gun appears to have been hidden in his shorts.
Would the officer have been justified to use deadly force before being murdered? Officer Story was not armed but he would have been justified to use deadly physical force by means of his hands, radio, blunt object, knife or anything else he could have used during the struggle.
Outcome for the cop-killer: Lewis has been charged with capital murder.
Miscellaneous: Lewis was freed from his 2002 life sentence and out on bail from a 2021 domestic violence charge – he should have still been in prison.
