Maskless customer shot in back by security guard after fight, police allege
07/09/2020 10:16 am PDT
via KTLA:
GARDENA, Calif. (KTLA) -- Prosecutors filed charges against a security guard and his wife after a dispute over a face mask at a market ended with a man being fatally shot, the Los Angeles County District Attorney's Office said Wednesday.
Umeir Hawkins, 38, of Gardena, is charged with one count each of murder and possession of a handgun by a felon. His wife, 50-year-old Sabrina Carter, is charged with one count of possession of a handgun by a felon. Both pleaded not guilty when they appeared in court Wednesday.
The D.A.'s Office said 50-year-old Jerry Lewis entered a market in the 2300 block of Rosecrans Avenue Sunday evening without a face covering. Hawkins confronted Lewis about not wearing a mask, according to the DA's Office, which escalated into a physical fight.
Carter was in the parking lot waiting for her husband to get off work. She armed herself and pointed the gun at the victim and other customers, according to the Gardena Police Department, ending the fight.
As Lewis was walking away, Hawkins produced a firearm and allegedly opened fire on the victim, hitting him in the lower part of his body, Gardena Police said. Lewis died at the scene. Hawkins and Carter were arrested the next day.
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