1 00:00:05,724 --> 00:00:07,862 [line ringing] 2 00:00:07,931 --> 00:00:11,068 [dispatcher speaking] 3 00:00:11,068 --> 00:00:14,862 [man speaking] 4 00:00:16,172 --> 00:00:17,896 [dispatcher speaking] 5 00:00:17,896 --> 00:00:19,793 [man speaking] 6 00:00:20,896 --> 00:00:22,965 DAMICO: John was a little bit different. 7 00:00:23,000 --> 00:00:25,896 Not what I pictured my mom to ever date. 8 00:00:25,896 --> 00:00:27,241 Not a people person. 9 00:00:28,379 --> 00:00:30,482 BURRINGTON: You always want to see the good in people, 10 00:00:31,896 --> 00:00:34,965 but I felt something is a little off here. 11 00:00:36,103 --> 00:00:38,689 DAMICO: We would question, like, what's going on with him? 12 00:00:38,689 --> 00:00:41,275 He became a completely different person. 13 00:00:41,275 --> 00:00:42,620 BURRINGTON: I thought, wow, 14 00:00:42,620 --> 00:00:46,103 he's definitely getting obsessed with this, 15 00:00:46,103 --> 00:00:48,379 and then that's where everything took a big 16 00:00:48,448 --> 00:00:50,482 terrible turn. 17 00:00:50,482 --> 00:00:51,689 [man speaking] 18 00:00:51,689 --> 00:00:54,000 [John Lewis speaking] 19 00:00:54,000 --> 00:00:57,896 PIFER: There was a makeshift bookshelf that had been turned 20 00:00:57,896 --> 00:01:01,586 into a door into, like, a almost a hidden room. 21 00:01:01,655 --> 00:01:04,482 [detective speaking] 22 00:01:06,620 --> 00:01:09,275 SUAREZ: His demeanor, his actions, 23 00:01:09,275 --> 00:01:11,241 his emotions, they just weren't genuine. 24 00:01:17,413 --> 00:01:19,068 He's just an evil person. 25 00:01:19,137 --> 00:01:22,068 [music climbing] 26 00:01:22,137 --> 00:01:26,172 [theme music playing] 27 00:01:36,206 --> 00:01:39,896 NARRATOR: It's Christmas Day in the Damico household. 28 00:01:39,896 --> 00:01:41,172 I can't see. 29 00:01:41,172 --> 00:01:43,378 NARRATOR: 42-year-old Steve has an unusual 30 00:01:43,448 --> 00:01:46,862 present for his 41-year-old wife, Carla. 31 00:01:46,931 --> 00:01:48,482 [Steve speaking] 32 00:01:48,482 --> 00:01:49,689 [Dani speaking] 33 00:01:50,482 --> 00:01:52,896 My dad said, "Santa left a present out in the garage," 34 00:01:52,896 --> 00:01:55,482 and me and my mom went out there. 35 00:01:55,551 --> 00:01:56,965 [Steve clears throat] 36 00:01:59,275 --> 00:02:02,586 -[Steve gasps] -[Carla chuckles] 37 00:02:04,896 --> 00:02:08,378 [Dani speaking] 38 00:02:08,448 --> 00:02:10,550 [Carla speaking] 39 00:02:12,896 --> 00:02:15,379 Carla got a garage door opener from her hubby. 40 00:02:15,448 --> 00:02:17,586 [chuckles] 41 00:02:17,586 --> 00:02:19,068 [Carla speaking] 42 00:02:19,137 --> 00:02:21,068 [Steve speaking] 43 00:02:21,137 --> 00:02:23,482 Oh, yeah. It was practical. 44 00:02:24,793 --> 00:02:26,034 [laughs] 45 00:02:27,620 --> 00:02:30,379 BURRINGTON: They were married, had to be about 22 years, 46 00:02:30,379 --> 00:02:32,000 somewhere around that. 47 00:02:32,000 --> 00:02:35,793 And at this point, Carla and Steve's 48 00:02:35,793 --> 00:02:38,758 marriage was probably starting to go downhill. 49 00:02:41,724 --> 00:02:43,482 I think it had been brewing for 50 00:02:43,551 --> 00:02:47,067 a while, and sometimes, you stay together for the children. 51 00:02:47,067 --> 00:02:49,689 I think that might have been part of the situation. 52 00:02:51,482 --> 00:02:52,965 [gasps] 53 00:02:54,586 --> 00:02:59,172 He was a good dad, but maybe not quite up there doing 54 00:02:59,172 --> 00:03:01,103 everything like Carla. 55 00:03:01,103 --> 00:03:03,586 She ran circles around him, 56 00:03:03,655 --> 00:03:06,172 made sure everything was in order. 57 00:03:08,379 --> 00:03:11,965 They were young when they got together, and I 58 00:03:12,000 --> 00:03:17,275 didn't see my parents give much affection to each other. 59 00:03:17,275 --> 00:03:20,586 I feel like they had a good relationship... 60 00:03:20,655 --> 00:03:22,482 as friends. 61 00:03:22,482 --> 00:03:25,724 I remember my mom saying that she still loved 62 00:03:25,724 --> 00:03:30,862 my dad, but she wasn't in love with him anymore. 63 00:03:32,482 --> 00:03:35,482 NARRATOR: Carla and Steve divorce in 2007. 64 00:03:37,103 --> 00:03:41,275 Steve did not want the divorce, but because of their two 65 00:03:41,344 --> 00:03:43,896 children and all the grandchildren, 66 00:03:43,896 --> 00:03:46,275 they were very nice to each other, 67 00:03:46,344 --> 00:03:47,448 very civil. 68 00:03:49,620 --> 00:03:53,103 So after the divorce, it was like a new chapter, 69 00:03:53,103 --> 00:03:56,275 and she just was, like, feeling good about herself. 70 00:03:56,344 --> 00:04:00,379 I think she was reliving some of her younger years 71 00:04:00,379 --> 00:04:04,000 that she missed, because she was 21 when she got married. 72 00:04:04,000 --> 00:04:06,689 NARRATOR: Carla begins online dating. 73 00:04:06,758 --> 00:04:10,275 I was always a little apprehensive about meeting 74 00:04:10,344 --> 00:04:12,103 people on this, um, 75 00:04:12,103 --> 00:04:14,965 you know, dating website. 76 00:04:15,896 --> 00:04:19,172 Not too many months after, she told me that she met 77 00:04:19,172 --> 00:04:22,896 a really nice guy and that she was enjoying talking 78 00:04:22,896 --> 00:04:24,482 with him. 79 00:04:24,482 --> 00:04:29,793 NARRATOR: The new man in Carla's life is 40-year-old John Benton Lewis. 80 00:04:29,862 --> 00:04:31,793 DAMICO: He was a little bit different, 81 00:04:31,793 --> 00:04:36,068 not what I pictured my mom to ever date. 82 00:04:36,068 --> 00:04:39,689 She showed me his profile with, like, weed plants. 83 00:04:39,758 --> 00:04:41,896 I would never picture her being with someone that -- 84 00:04:41,896 --> 00:04:43,068 that did that. 85 00:04:43,068 --> 00:04:46,275 But here she is in her forties, you know, 86 00:04:46,344 --> 00:04:50,448 wanting to kind of relive those twenties again. 87 00:04:51,724 --> 00:04:56,482 John had tattoos, he had a motorcycle, 88 00:04:56,551 --> 00:05:00,551 and he was good at fixing things. 89 00:05:02,379 --> 00:05:04,482 BURRINGTON: He was a man of few words, 90 00:05:04,482 --> 00:05:07,965 but she enjoyed his company. 91 00:05:08,000 --> 00:05:09,965 She was very happy with him. 92 00:05:11,275 --> 00:05:13,793 C. PRUETT: John would cook, and he would clean, 93 00:05:13,793 --> 00:05:18,068 and he would fix things around the house. 94 00:05:18,068 --> 00:05:21,275 I think that's what she was looking for. 95 00:05:21,275 --> 00:05:23,379 BURRINGTON: He made her feel very good, 96 00:05:23,379 --> 00:05:24,896 made her feel very important, 97 00:05:24,896 --> 00:05:29,448 something that she never ever, ever had in her past life. 98 00:05:31,896 --> 00:05:36,275 My sister told me that he did have a criminal past. 99 00:05:36,275 --> 00:05:39,586 He did have a felony for burglary, 100 00:05:40,620 --> 00:05:43,862 but she did say that he had changed 101 00:05:43,931 --> 00:05:46,793 and was getting away from all of that stuff. 102 00:05:46,862 --> 00:05:49,068 And I said, well, you know... 103 00:05:49,137 --> 00:05:50,793 you know better than anyone. 104 00:05:52,379 --> 00:05:56,482 C. PRUETT: John told my mom that he had had cancer 105 00:05:56,482 --> 00:06:01,896 previously, and he had a lot of pain from that. 106 00:06:01,896 --> 00:06:07,068 John was on disability income, and that 107 00:06:07,137 --> 00:06:10,896 and the small engine repair 108 00:06:10,896 --> 00:06:13,482 was what he considered his income. 109 00:06:14,689 --> 00:06:17,586 BURRINGTON: John had a medical marijuana card, 110 00:06:17,655 --> 00:06:19,724 and he did smoke the marijuana 111 00:06:19,724 --> 00:06:24,517 because he was in pain because of the cancer that he had. 112 00:06:24,517 --> 00:06:26,620 I felt like it was excessive, but, you know, 113 00:06:26,620 --> 00:06:29,965 it is used for medical things. I get that. 114 00:06:30,000 --> 00:06:33,379 So, um -- so yeah, I was very accepting to him. 115 00:06:34,724 --> 00:06:38,965 He told my mom about the things that went on 116 00:06:39,000 --> 00:06:42,689 in his past, and my mom had a huge heart, 117 00:06:42,758 --> 00:06:48,379 and she always saw the potential in people, 118 00:06:48,379 --> 00:06:53,172 and I believe that she saw a big amount of potential in him. 119 00:06:58,206 --> 00:07:04,172 The end of April 2009, and they were already living together. 120 00:07:05,620 --> 00:07:09,103 C. PRUETT: My mom was very successful in her career. 121 00:07:09,103 --> 00:07:15,241 She was in the accounting area at Bayer Pharmaceuticals. 122 00:07:17,103 --> 00:07:19,620 In the summer of 2010, she bought 123 00:07:19,620 --> 00:07:23,482 a house in Niles for her and John. 124 00:07:23,551 --> 00:07:28,517 It was a three-bedroom ranch-style with 125 00:07:28,517 --> 00:07:33,068 a really nice sun porch on the back and a pool. 126 00:07:33,068 --> 00:07:34,655 My mom loved it. 127 00:07:38,482 --> 00:07:41,172 NARRATOR: Carla and John might be a tight couple, 128 00:07:41,241 --> 00:07:43,482 but John often ducks out of important family 129 00:07:43,482 --> 00:07:47,379 milestones, like the wedding of Carla's daughter, Danielle. 130 00:07:50,379 --> 00:07:53,344 That's me and my dad. He's walking me down the aisle. 131 00:07:55,172 --> 00:07:57,172 Oh, there's my mom. 132 00:07:57,172 --> 00:07:59,068 She's super happy. 133 00:08:05,000 --> 00:08:07,689 BURRINGTON: There's Carla right there -- 134 00:08:07,758 --> 00:08:12,620 and Steve -- they definitely were fine 135 00:08:12,620 --> 00:08:14,275 being around each other. 136 00:08:15,413 --> 00:08:18,862 DAMICO: My wedding was in Idaho. 137 00:08:18,931 --> 00:08:22,275 My whole family came out to -- to celebrate. 138 00:08:22,344 --> 00:08:25,448 It was just nice having my mom there for it. 139 00:08:27,275 --> 00:08:29,517 John was invited to the wedding, 140 00:08:29,517 --> 00:08:31,758 but he didn't -- he didn't come. 141 00:08:33,482 --> 00:08:36,379 My mom said that he doesn't like flying. 142 00:08:36,448 --> 00:08:38,620 He doesn't like being around a bunch of people. 143 00:08:38,620 --> 00:08:40,482 But it's also because he couldn't 144 00:08:40,482 --> 00:08:43,344 just smoke his weed whenever he wanted. 145 00:08:44,482 --> 00:08:46,586 BURRINGTON: Sometimes when you go away, 146 00:08:46,655 --> 00:08:49,517 outside the state of Michigan, that would be 147 00:08:49,517 --> 00:08:52,103 frowned upon if you were someplace else 148 00:08:52,103 --> 00:08:53,379 and trying to do that. 149 00:08:54,793 --> 00:08:58,586 We got very used to John's excuses 150 00:08:58,586 --> 00:09:00,103 for why he wouldn't come. 151 00:09:01,000 --> 00:09:03,896 Carla would always have loved if John would have came 152 00:09:03,896 --> 00:09:05,689 with her, but she always told me 153 00:09:05,758 --> 00:09:08,896 she understood why he didn't, and she was 154 00:09:08,896 --> 00:09:12,137 fine with that, but she would call him a lot. 155 00:09:13,172 --> 00:09:16,275 She'd go call him and come back in 156 00:09:16,275 --> 00:09:19,000 and be like, "Oh, I think he misses me." 157 00:09:19,000 --> 00:09:21,068 When she got home, she'd say, 158 00:09:21,137 --> 00:09:22,689 you know, "Look what Johnny got me." 159 00:09:22,689 --> 00:09:24,793 He would get her flowers. 160 00:09:24,793 --> 00:09:28,103 So it would kind of show like, oh, he -- he does care. 161 00:09:28,103 --> 00:09:30,448 He's just quiet and not a people person. 162 00:09:33,620 --> 00:09:35,275 NARRATOR: Back home in Michigan, 163 00:09:35,275 --> 00:09:37,793 John makes up for his absences at family 164 00:09:37,862 --> 00:09:41,758 events by spending quality time with Carla's grandkids. 165 00:09:42,724 --> 00:09:44,965 C. PRUETT: This is John on a go-kart 166 00:09:45,000 --> 00:09:49,172 pulling my three oldest boys on a sled. 167 00:09:49,172 --> 00:09:50,379 [chuckles] 168 00:09:52,172 --> 00:09:53,620 Noah's in the front, Adam's in 169 00:09:53,620 --> 00:09:55,448 the middle, and Isaiah's in the back. 170 00:09:57,517 --> 00:10:03,275 He had wanted to do something with us, because there was snow, 171 00:10:03,344 --> 00:10:06,689 and I remember he would take us around the block. 172 00:10:09,068 --> 00:10:12,896 When John was interacting with my kids, 173 00:10:12,896 --> 00:10:16,000 most of the time, I was not there. 174 00:10:16,000 --> 00:10:21,689 I always assumed that it was because he was too introverted, 175 00:10:21,689 --> 00:10:24,137 but I don't really think he liked me very much. 176 00:10:31,000 --> 00:10:34,551 NARRATOR: Six months later, Carla and John tie the knot. 177 00:10:36,413 --> 00:10:39,068 BURRINGTON: It was a outside little wedding 178 00:10:39,068 --> 00:10:41,000 with a little gazebo, 179 00:10:41,000 --> 00:10:44,793 just pretty much family, and it was wonderful. 180 00:10:45,896 --> 00:10:47,482 I was glad to see that 181 00:10:47,482 --> 00:10:50,793 she seemed very happy again. 182 00:10:50,793 --> 00:10:56,896 And while I wasn't sure about how John was, 183 00:10:56,896 --> 00:11:00,103 I assumed that he must treat my mom really good for her to 184 00:11:00,103 --> 00:11:02,758 be as happy as she was. 185 00:11:05,793 --> 00:11:07,379 I was like, well, you know, 186 00:11:07,379 --> 00:11:10,275 he's a little quiet and mysterious, but, like, maybe -- 187 00:11:10,275 --> 00:11:13,689 maybe they're good together, maybe opposites do attract. 188 00:11:15,000 --> 00:11:19,620 I was just happy that my sister was showing a lot of 189 00:11:19,620 --> 00:11:24,620 love for this guy, and he seemed to be for her, too, 190 00:11:24,620 --> 00:11:28,482 but we can all be deceived by people. 191 00:11:47,103 --> 00:11:50,172 BURRINGTON: My daughter Tessa's wedding was 192 00:11:50,172 --> 00:11:53,000 in Grand Rapids in Michigan. 193 00:11:53,965 --> 00:11:56,068 So it was a couple hour drive. 194 00:11:56,896 --> 00:12:00,448 I am in the front row with my mom and my dad, 195 00:12:01,275 --> 00:12:04,344 yep, and there's Carla and John. 196 00:12:05,689 --> 00:12:09,241 John felt more comfortable, because it was in Michigan 197 00:12:09,310 --> 00:12:13,275 and they had the Michigan medical marijuana rules. 198 00:12:13,275 --> 00:12:15,000 OFFICIANT: Tessa Leigh Burrington... 199 00:12:15,000 --> 00:12:17,793 It was a very big thing for him 200 00:12:17,793 --> 00:12:19,862 to have attended the wedding. 201 00:12:21,379 --> 00:12:24,758 DAMICO: I remember him being there in the family photo, 202 00:12:24,827 --> 00:12:28,344 but he was probably going outside doing smoke breaks 203 00:12:28,413 --> 00:12:30,586 every 10 minutes. 204 00:12:30,586 --> 00:12:32,068 Him and his marijuana. 205 00:12:33,103 --> 00:12:36,448 He socially didn't like being around a bunch of people. 206 00:12:36,517 --> 00:12:38,103 He didn't seem like he cared 207 00:12:38,103 --> 00:12:42,862 enough to try to have a relationship with anyone. 208 00:12:50,379 --> 00:12:52,689 NARRATOR: That same year, John starts to grow 209 00:12:52,689 --> 00:12:56,275 cannabis plants at home in the basement. 210 00:12:56,275 --> 00:13:00,068 BURRINGTON: We heard about a room that John had built. 211 00:13:00,068 --> 00:13:04,862 It was a grow room, and it was like behind a wall. 212 00:13:05,965 --> 00:13:08,344 I was a little apprehensive about it. 213 00:13:09,172 --> 00:13:11,000 I was thinking, I don't like that 214 00:13:11,000 --> 00:13:13,862 my sister has this in her house. 215 00:13:15,965 --> 00:13:18,689 I thought at this time that he was just 216 00:13:18,758 --> 00:13:22,000 growing that medical marijuana for him. 217 00:13:22,000 --> 00:13:26,275 And then all of a sudden, I heard that he was 218 00:13:26,275 --> 00:13:31,689 actually growing it not just for him, but other people. 219 00:13:31,689 --> 00:13:35,241 DAMICO: He would post about it on Facebook too, to show that 220 00:13:35,310 --> 00:13:38,275 he supports cancer patients 221 00:13:38,275 --> 00:13:42,000 with marijuana, and he'd be cooking tablets for, 222 00:13:42,000 --> 00:13:43,344 like, cancer patients. 223 00:13:45,172 --> 00:13:47,172 Carla is very trusting. 224 00:13:47,172 --> 00:13:50,172 So if he says he can sell it to medical people, 225 00:13:50,241 --> 00:13:52,758 she can see the good in that. 226 00:13:52,758 --> 00:13:56,689 I was thinking, I'm not really sure about this, 227 00:13:56,689 --> 00:13:59,862 because he had a felony, and when you have 228 00:13:59,862 --> 00:14:03,172 a felony, I'm not really sure if you're supposed to be 229 00:14:03,241 --> 00:14:06,448 selling the medical marijuana to other people. 230 00:14:08,586 --> 00:14:13,965 By 2016, John had become quite outspoken 231 00:14:14,000 --> 00:14:18,275 about wanting the legalization 232 00:14:18,275 --> 00:14:20,931 of marijuana to happen. 233 00:14:22,379 --> 00:14:25,000 DAMICO: John got his truck all decked out. 234 00:14:25,068 --> 00:14:27,068 I mean, he seemed super proud of it. 235 00:14:28,000 --> 00:14:32,000 BURRINGTON: This is John's truck that's got the marijuana 236 00:14:32,000 --> 00:14:35,482 leaf on the front and on the windows. 237 00:14:35,482 --> 00:14:37,000 And there's the phrase on 238 00:14:37,068 --> 00:14:40,689 the back that, "Cannabis cures, 7Leaves." 239 00:14:41,586 --> 00:14:46,448 "If a law is unjust, a man is not only right to disobey, 240 00:14:46,517 --> 00:14:51,000 he is obligated to do so," a quote by Thomas Jefferson. 241 00:14:51,000 --> 00:14:54,000 I thought, wow, he's definitely getting 242 00:14:54,000 --> 00:14:55,241 obsessed with this. 243 00:14:56,103 --> 00:14:59,068 [John Lewis speaking] 244 00:14:59,137 --> 00:15:01,000 NARRATOR: John takes his advocacy 245 00:15:01,000 --> 00:15:04,103 for medical marijuana to the streets. 246 00:15:04,103 --> 00:15:07,931 This was a Cannabis Cures motorcycle rally. 247 00:15:09,275 --> 00:15:11,172 That's probably John's bike right there, 248 00:15:11,241 --> 00:15:13,758 because it was the same color green. 249 00:15:13,758 --> 00:15:15,344 He was known around the town 250 00:15:15,413 --> 00:15:17,931 on his motorcycle and on his truck. 251 00:15:20,275 --> 00:15:23,862 I think he took on the role of being 252 00:15:23,862 --> 00:15:28,172 the main person, the kingpin, on vocalizing about 253 00:15:28,241 --> 00:15:30,068 legalizing marijuana. 254 00:15:31,689 --> 00:15:33,793 It was just getting a little bit out of control. 255 00:15:33,793 --> 00:15:35,862 And I just felt like, wow, 256 00:15:35,862 --> 00:15:38,758 you're really crossing some lines on doing this 257 00:15:38,758 --> 00:15:39,931 the right way. 258 00:15:54,482 --> 00:15:56,793 DAMICO: Christmas of 2016, 259 00:15:56,793 --> 00:15:59,758 me and my family were staying with my mom 260 00:15:59,827 --> 00:16:01,931 and John at their house in Niles. 261 00:16:03,379 --> 00:16:06,862 This was the first Christmas that we were 262 00:16:06,931 --> 00:16:10,931 spending together with all of the grandkids. 263 00:16:12,586 --> 00:16:15,482 We'd always be on Snapchat doing 264 00:16:15,482 --> 00:16:17,448 Snapchat filters. 265 00:16:18,379 --> 00:16:21,689 And my mom, she'd just be like doing -- 266 00:16:21,689 --> 00:16:24,068 doing the goofiest Snapchats. 267 00:16:30,586 --> 00:16:32,344 Oh, my goodness. 268 00:16:36,000 --> 00:16:39,172 C. PRUETT: My mom loved having all her grandkids 269 00:16:39,241 --> 00:16:41,241 and all her kids. 270 00:16:41,310 --> 00:16:44,827 It's just was her favorite thing in the whole world. 271 00:16:46,862 --> 00:16:49,379 DAMICO: It's Christmastime, but John was a little 272 00:16:49,379 --> 00:16:51,344 bit more off than he usually is. 273 00:16:53,172 --> 00:16:56,068 BURRINGTON: People would come over, and they would come over 274 00:16:56,137 --> 00:16:58,793 when we were there, and I'd ask my sister, 275 00:16:58,793 --> 00:16:59,862 "So who are they?" 276 00:16:59,862 --> 00:17:03,379 And she's like, "Well, they're are some of the, 277 00:17:03,379 --> 00:17:07,000 you know, people that he sells his medical marijuana to." 278 00:17:08,275 --> 00:17:11,172 I have my kids with me, so I'm a little more on edge. 279 00:17:11,241 --> 00:17:12,758 Like, who are these people? 280 00:17:12,758 --> 00:17:15,378 Like, random people coming in here, because they just didn't 281 00:17:15,378 --> 00:17:17,586 look like they were here for anything good. 282 00:17:17,655 --> 00:17:20,275 It just seemed like it was happening more frequent, 283 00:17:20,275 --> 00:17:22,103 and, like, at nighttime. 284 00:17:22,103 --> 00:17:23,862 I'm not naive about things. 285 00:17:23,862 --> 00:17:26,964 Whereas, like, my mom, she's more of a don't ask, 286 00:17:26,964 --> 00:17:28,689 don't tell. 287 00:17:28,758 --> 00:17:31,275 And I asked her, I was like, "Do you have a gun?" 288 00:17:31,275 --> 00:17:34,551 She was like, "No, I don't have one, but I think John does." 289 00:17:36,275 --> 00:17:38,827 It scared me for my mom, really. 290 00:17:47,793 --> 00:17:51,586 In May of 2017 is when 291 00:17:51,655 --> 00:17:54,103 John opened his 7Leaves 292 00:17:54,103 --> 00:17:56,793 Compassion Club store. 293 00:17:56,793 --> 00:18:00,689 Whatever you could sell for marijuana, as long as it was 294 00:18:00,758 --> 00:18:02,241 legal, he was selling it. 295 00:18:03,103 --> 00:18:05,448 Carla put forward the finances. 296 00:18:07,172 --> 00:18:10,448 She thought it sounded like a good thing. 297 00:18:10,517 --> 00:18:15,103 My mom was very supportive of him, because 298 00:18:15,103 --> 00:18:19,172 that's something that he had dreamed about doing. 299 00:18:21,793 --> 00:18:23,586 BURRINGTON: Within the next couple months, 300 00:18:23,586 --> 00:18:27,586 Carla started sharing with us that she wasn't feeling 301 00:18:27,655 --> 00:18:29,586 too good about this shop. 302 00:18:29,655 --> 00:18:32,965 John doesn't hardly come home till late at night. 303 00:18:32,965 --> 00:18:35,379 He's there all day and all night. 304 00:18:35,379 --> 00:18:38,172 And even on the weekends, he's just 305 00:18:38,241 --> 00:18:42,103 not caring about anything except these drugs. 306 00:18:42,103 --> 00:18:43,862 Then, all of a sudden, 307 00:18:43,862 --> 00:18:47,172 there was women that were texting him. 308 00:18:47,172 --> 00:18:50,379 And women, you know, that were coming up there, 309 00:18:50,379 --> 00:18:53,758 regulars, and she wasn't feeling comfortable 310 00:18:53,758 --> 00:18:55,758 about that at all either. 311 00:18:57,275 --> 00:18:58,758 I think at this point, 312 00:18:58,758 --> 00:19:02,862 Carla was getting very frustrated with things. 313 00:19:02,931 --> 00:19:05,965 I know they were having conversations about that 314 00:19:06,000 --> 00:19:07,068 they were going to have to close 315 00:19:07,137 --> 00:19:09,551 that shop, because they were losing money. 316 00:19:10,689 --> 00:19:15,586 He was very upset about what she was saying, 317 00:19:15,586 --> 00:19:19,172 because he was having the time of his life right now. 318 00:19:19,172 --> 00:19:23,275 He was the center of attention with all the marijuana people 319 00:19:23,275 --> 00:19:27,448 in Niles and had all these girls calling him for 320 00:19:27,517 --> 00:19:31,379 different reasons and didn't want to get off that pedestal, 321 00:19:31,379 --> 00:19:32,965 that's for sure. 322 00:19:37,586 --> 00:19:39,965 NARRATOR: Carla drives two hours to Muskegon 323 00:19:40,000 --> 00:19:42,862 to look after her mom over the weekend. 324 00:19:45,103 --> 00:19:47,862 My mom took my boys up there to help 325 00:19:47,931 --> 00:19:52,965 grandma with all sorts of things in her little apartment. 326 00:19:52,965 --> 00:19:57,068 A. PRUETT: She was sick or had just had surgery or something. 327 00:19:57,137 --> 00:20:00,103 And so we were just went up there to help her. 328 00:20:00,103 --> 00:20:03,965 It was like how a normal weekend with her would go. 329 00:20:05,000 --> 00:20:07,482 But, before we left, my grandma 330 00:20:07,482 --> 00:20:10,172 had been on the phone with somebody 331 00:20:10,172 --> 00:20:13,000 looking very angry and upset. 332 00:20:14,379 --> 00:20:18,068 And I remember asking her if she was okay, 333 00:20:18,137 --> 00:20:19,793 and I remember her telling me that she was like, 334 00:20:19,793 --> 00:20:21,344 "Yeah, everything's fine." 335 00:20:22,689 --> 00:20:25,862 I felt like this was a different kind of upset and mad. 336 00:20:25,862 --> 00:20:30,448 It's like something had happened, something bad. 337 00:20:34,379 --> 00:20:35,379 NARRATOR: That afternoon, 338 00:20:35,379 --> 00:20:38,068 Carla drops her grandsons at Christy's house 339 00:20:38,137 --> 00:20:40,586 and heads home to John and Niles. 340 00:20:42,172 --> 00:20:45,482 C. PRUETT: I believe it was, like, four o'clock. 341 00:20:45,482 --> 00:20:49,482 We all said goodbye, and I gave her a big hug. 342 00:20:49,482 --> 00:20:52,655 Never expected what happened next. 343 00:20:54,517 --> 00:20:56,931 Had I known, I wouldn't have let her go home. 344 00:21:07,068 --> 00:21:11,344 [line ringing] 345 00:21:11,413 --> 00:21:14,448 [dispatcher speaking] 346 00:21:14,448 --> 00:21:19,241 [John Lewis speaking] 347 00:21:19,241 --> 00:21:21,172 [dispatcher speaking] 348 00:21:21,172 --> 00:21:22,965 [John Lewis speaking] 349 00:21:27,448 --> 00:21:29,344 [dispatcher speaking] 350 00:21:34,275 --> 00:21:35,448 [John Lewis sobbing] 351 00:21:35,448 --> 00:21:37,034 [dispatcher speaking] 352 00:21:39,068 --> 00:21:40,517 [dispatcher speaking] 353 00:21:46,068 --> 00:21:47,551 Sunday, August 13th, 354 00:21:47,551 --> 00:21:49,793 at approximately 5:45 p.m., 355 00:21:49,793 --> 00:21:53,137 a 911 call was made by John Lewis. 356 00:21:53,206 --> 00:21:56,241 [indistinct radio chatter] 357 00:21:57,586 --> 00:22:01,241 PIFER: I was probably four or five miles north 358 00:22:01,241 --> 00:22:05,551 when our priority tones came out over the radio. 359 00:22:05,620 --> 00:22:08,344 It came out as a robbery in progress. 360 00:22:08,413 --> 00:22:10,862 We didn't know how many people were there. 361 00:22:10,931 --> 00:22:12,965 We didn't know who was involved. 362 00:22:14,586 --> 00:22:16,000 [indistinct talking] 363 00:22:16,000 --> 00:22:19,068 PIFER: We didn't know how many people were still in the house. 364 00:22:19,068 --> 00:22:20,241 [indistinct radio chatter] 365 00:22:20,241 --> 00:22:22,241 We grabbed our rifles. 366 00:22:22,241 --> 00:22:24,344 We didn't know what we were walking into. 367 00:22:28,241 --> 00:22:31,448 We started to search the main level, which 368 00:22:31,448 --> 00:22:34,034 was a single-story house with a basement. 369 00:22:36,344 --> 00:22:39,137 As we worked our way into the basement, 370 00:22:39,137 --> 00:22:41,172 you could start to hear someone saying, like, 371 00:22:41,172 --> 00:22:43,137 "She won't wake up, she won't wake up." 372 00:22:44,344 --> 00:22:47,241 NARRATOR: The voice is coming from behind a bookcase in 373 00:22:47,241 --> 00:22:48,689 the corner. 374 00:22:48,689 --> 00:22:53,344 We made our way to that corner, and when we looked, 375 00:22:53,344 --> 00:22:57,344 there was a makeshift bookshelf that had been turned 376 00:22:57,413 --> 00:22:58,862 into a door, 377 00:22:58,931 --> 00:23:01,310 into like almost a hidden room. 378 00:23:02,379 --> 00:23:05,655 It was a hidden room where they were growing marijuana. 379 00:23:07,000 --> 00:23:11,034 We all had got to this door and started announcing, saying, 380 00:23:11,034 --> 00:23:12,241 "Come on out." 381 00:23:14,241 --> 00:23:16,137 Mr. Lewis came crawling out. 382 00:23:16,137 --> 00:23:18,137 You could see he was covered in blood. 383 00:23:19,896 --> 00:23:22,448 Still in the room was a female. 384 00:23:22,448 --> 00:23:24,241 She was face down. 385 00:23:24,310 --> 00:23:26,344 She wasn't moving, unresponsive. 386 00:23:30,068 --> 00:23:33,241 [Officer Pifer speaking] 387 00:23:34,586 --> 00:23:38,034 We had medic come down and pronounced 388 00:23:38,103 --> 00:23:40,862 Carla Lewis deceased at that point. 389 00:23:48,689 --> 00:23:50,413 [cellphone chimes] 390 00:23:51,793 --> 00:23:55,241 C. PRUETT: One of my friends messaged me. 391 00:23:55,241 --> 00:23:57,793 "I'm just wanting to make sure that your mom's okay. 392 00:23:57,793 --> 00:24:01,000 I heard there was a shooting on her road." 393 00:24:01,000 --> 00:24:05,517 And I tried calling my mom and texting my mom. 394 00:24:07,241 --> 00:24:10,000 I tried calling John. 395 00:24:10,000 --> 00:24:13,241 I had woken my husband up like, I have to go over there. 396 00:24:16,241 --> 00:24:22,034 There is a line of cop cars blocking off their house, 397 00:24:22,034 --> 00:24:25,137 and I was like, "No, it can't be her, it can't be her." 398 00:24:26,689 --> 00:24:28,965 You're, like, numb, that's for sure. 399 00:24:28,965 --> 00:24:30,551 You just -- you can't even... 400 00:24:31,689 --> 00:24:33,448 fathom it. 401 00:24:33,517 --> 00:24:37,068 DAMICO: Couldn't, like, wrap my head around everything. 402 00:24:37,068 --> 00:24:38,344 Just didn't believe it. 403 00:24:38,413 --> 00:24:41,448 I was like thinking, too, like, who would shoot my mom? 404 00:24:41,517 --> 00:24:44,034 Like, she's the sweetest, kindest person 405 00:24:44,103 --> 00:24:46,137 I've ever met in my life. 406 00:24:46,206 --> 00:24:48,965 I was just in complete shock. 407 00:24:50,793 --> 00:24:55,689 We try to get some basic information from Mr. Lewis. 408 00:24:55,689 --> 00:24:59,448 He had said that two big black guys essentially 409 00:24:59,448 --> 00:25:02,551 had come into his house and tried to rob him. 410 00:25:02,551 --> 00:25:06,034 They shot into his marijuana room, 411 00:25:06,103 --> 00:25:10,310 hitting Miss Lewis, missing him altogether. 412 00:25:12,482 --> 00:25:14,896 SUAREZ: We took Mr. Lewis to 413 00:25:14,896 --> 00:25:16,551 the Niles law enforcement complex, 414 00:25:16,551 --> 00:25:18,758 where we could do a video interview 415 00:25:18,827 --> 00:25:20,862 with myself and Lieutenant Rick Bigger. 416 00:25:22,689 --> 00:25:23,862 DET. RICK BIGGER: Um... 417 00:25:31,586 --> 00:25:33,137 SUAREZ: He was just wearing jeans 418 00:25:33,206 --> 00:25:35,137 and a pair of tennis shoes. 419 00:25:35,206 --> 00:25:38,448 We just kind of talked to him, get some basic information, 420 00:25:38,517 --> 00:25:41,068 kind of pin him down to a story. 421 00:25:41,068 --> 00:25:43,965 He said that Carla had gone to go visit her mother. 422 00:25:43,965 --> 00:25:46,034 So she was gone for the weekend. 423 00:25:46,034 --> 00:25:49,620 Then she had just arrived that Sunday afternoon. 424 00:25:52,068 --> 00:25:54,896 He said once she arrived, they never left the house. 425 00:25:54,896 --> 00:25:56,586 Nobody went anywhere. 426 00:25:56,586 --> 00:25:59,551 She basically shared her weekend 427 00:25:59,551 --> 00:26:01,310 of what she had did with him. 428 00:26:03,137 --> 00:26:05,586 They go downstairs into that grow room 429 00:26:05,586 --> 00:26:07,206 where the marijuana plants were. 430 00:26:08,172 --> 00:26:10,448 [Det. Rick Bigger speaking] 431 00:26:10,448 --> 00:26:13,000 [John Lewis speaking, sobbing] 432 00:26:21,000 --> 00:26:22,758 [Det. Rick Bigger speaking] 433 00:26:24,241 --> 00:26:26,310 -Uh-huh. -[Det. Rick Bigger speaking] 434 00:26:33,000 --> 00:26:35,758 [John Lewis speaking] 435 00:26:50,172 --> 00:26:51,586 [Det. Rick Bigger speaking] 436 00:26:51,586 --> 00:26:55,068 [John Lewis speaking] 437 00:26:55,068 --> 00:26:56,551 [Det. Rick Bigger speaking] 438 00:26:56,620 --> 00:26:58,413 [John Lewis speaking] 439 00:27:00,793 --> 00:27:02,310 BIGGER: They're just shooting. 440 00:27:04,586 --> 00:27:07,034 The grow room, it was very small. 441 00:27:07,034 --> 00:27:09,034 I want to say maybe it was 10-by-10, 442 00:27:09,034 --> 00:27:12,241 10-by-12 with a small entrance door. 443 00:27:12,310 --> 00:27:13,896 You're looking at the casings, 444 00:27:13,896 --> 00:27:16,689 you're looking at holes in the wall, it gives you kind of 445 00:27:16,689 --> 00:27:18,896 an idea of what happened. 446 00:27:18,896 --> 00:27:22,344 My first thought is okay, well, they killed her. 447 00:27:22,344 --> 00:27:24,655 How in the world did he escape harm? 448 00:27:24,724 --> 00:27:26,793 Because that doorway is so small. 449 00:27:26,793 --> 00:27:29,241 How did he not get injured? 450 00:27:29,241 --> 00:27:32,896 [Det. Rick Bigger speaking] 451 00:27:32,896 --> 00:27:34,551 [John Lewis speaking] 452 00:27:34,620 --> 00:27:36,310 [Det. Rick Bigger speaking] 453 00:27:37,586 --> 00:27:40,241 [John Lewis speaking] 454 00:27:44,793 --> 00:27:45,965 And we're getting a little bit 455 00:27:45,965 --> 00:27:49,448 of history information about his business. 456 00:27:49,448 --> 00:27:51,000 [Det. Rick Bigger speaking] 457 00:27:52,482 --> 00:27:56,034 [John Lewis speaking] 458 00:27:56,103 --> 00:27:57,448 BIGGER: Oh, okay. 459 00:27:57,448 --> 00:27:59,655 Then we asked him, does he have any enemies, 460 00:27:59,724 --> 00:28:03,172 things like that, or is there anyone that he suspects of 461 00:28:03,172 --> 00:28:05,344 committing the homicide? 462 00:28:05,413 --> 00:28:08,137 [John Lewis speaking] 463 00:28:08,137 --> 00:28:09,793 [Det. Rick Bigger speaking] 464 00:28:09,793 --> 00:28:13,034 [John Lewis speaking, sobbing] 465 00:28:13,034 --> 00:28:16,241 [Det. Rick Bigger speaking] 466 00:28:16,310 --> 00:28:17,896 [John Lewis speaking] 467 00:28:17,896 --> 00:28:20,965 -[Det. Rick Bigger speaking] -[John Lewis speaking] 468 00:28:24,793 --> 00:28:28,034 We asked him if he suspected them of being involved, 469 00:28:28,103 --> 00:28:31,344 but he would never really give a straight answer on that. 470 00:28:31,344 --> 00:28:34,206 [John Lewis speaking] 471 00:28:36,241 --> 00:28:37,862 [sobbing] 472 00:28:40,689 --> 00:28:44,344 SUAREZ: The story that John tells us just didn't make sense. 473 00:28:44,413 --> 00:28:46,000 We needed to find out the truth. 474 00:28:47,965 --> 00:28:49,896 We started to transition from 475 00:28:49,896 --> 00:28:52,448 a soft interview into an interrogation. 476 00:28:52,896 --> 00:28:56,241 -[Det. Rick Bigger speaking] -[John Lewis speaking] 477 00:28:56,241 --> 00:28:58,344 [Det. Rick Bigger speaking] 478 00:29:00,000 --> 00:29:02,241 [John Lewis speaking] 479 00:29:05,344 --> 00:29:08,137 -[Det. Rick Bigger speaking] -[John Lewis speaking] 480 00:29:08,206 --> 00:29:09,758 [Det. Rick Bigger speaking] 481 00:29:10,586 --> 00:29:13,758 [John Lewis speaking] 482 00:29:14,241 --> 00:29:17,344 And he was adamant that he didn't have a gun, 483 00:29:17,344 --> 00:29:20,137 never owned a gun, never purchased a gun. 484 00:29:21,000 --> 00:29:23,551 -[Det. Rick Bigger speaking] -[John Lewis speaking] 485 00:29:23,620 --> 00:29:25,241 -[sobbing] -[Det. Rick Bigger speaking] 486 00:29:26,379 --> 00:29:28,241 [John Lewis speaking] 487 00:29:28,793 --> 00:29:30,344 He was telling us that they had 488 00:29:30,344 --> 00:29:32,793 a happy marriage and that everything 489 00:29:32,793 --> 00:29:34,241 was great between them. 490 00:29:35,793 --> 00:29:38,758 Carla was happy, he was happy, and everything was great. 491 00:29:40,689 --> 00:29:42,862 Then he kept asking us if she was dead, 492 00:29:42,931 --> 00:29:45,413 if she was deceased, that he had to go see her. 493 00:29:47,068 --> 00:29:48,758 [John Lewis speaking] 494 00:29:54,896 --> 00:29:57,137 And John would just start blubbering. 495 00:29:57,137 --> 00:29:58,655 [Det. Rick Bigger speaking] 496 00:29:58,724 --> 00:30:02,862 [John Lewis speaking, sobbing] 497 00:30:05,172 --> 00:30:07,758 -[Det. Rick Bigger speaking] -[John Lewis speaking] 498 00:30:19,689 --> 00:30:22,068 SUAREZ: All the information he's given us, 499 00:30:22,068 --> 00:30:26,448 it just doesn't jive, he just was sidestepping it. 500 00:30:26,448 --> 00:30:28,241 We needed to start putting pressure on 501 00:30:28,241 --> 00:30:30,620 John and see where it goes from there. 502 00:30:40,000 --> 00:30:42,551 [Det. Rick Bigger speaking] 503 00:30:45,689 --> 00:30:47,137 [John Lewis speaking] 504 00:30:47,206 --> 00:30:48,965 -[Det. Rick Bigger speaking] -[John Lewis speaking] 505 00:30:49,000 --> 00:30:49,965 [Det. Rick Bigger speaking] 506 00:30:50,000 --> 00:30:53,586 Around nine o'clock, we received a call 507 00:30:53,586 --> 00:30:56,137 or a notification from dispatch 508 00:30:56,206 --> 00:30:59,655 that an individual named Justin Hicks had called in 509 00:30:59,724 --> 00:31:01,793 and had information. 510 00:31:01,793 --> 00:31:03,241 SUAREZ: During the interview itself, 511 00:31:03,310 --> 00:31:05,137 we got a text from a detective. 512 00:31:05,137 --> 00:31:07,689 -[Det. Rick Bigger speaking] -[Det. Fabian Suarez speaking] 513 00:31:07,689 --> 00:31:10,034 They had made contact with this individual, who 514 00:31:10,103 --> 00:31:12,241 I believe was working construction in 515 00:31:12,241 --> 00:31:14,241 John's business. 516 00:31:14,241 --> 00:31:15,862 [Det. Rick Bigger speaking] 517 00:31:17,965 --> 00:31:21,655 Detectives then responded to speak with Justin Hicks, 518 00:31:21,724 --> 00:31:23,448 and Justin Hicks explained to 519 00:31:23,448 --> 00:31:27,793 the detectives that around 1:53 that day, 520 00:31:27,793 --> 00:31:31,896 he received a text message from John requesting 521 00:31:31,896 --> 00:31:35,586 that he come over to John's house. 522 00:31:35,586 --> 00:31:40,034 John turns over a key and requests Justin Hicks go 523 00:31:40,103 --> 00:31:45,034 to the shop and retrieve ammunition out of the shop. 524 00:31:45,103 --> 00:31:48,344 Justin does that, goes to the shop, 525 00:31:48,413 --> 00:31:51,862 retrieves the ammunition, and keeps it in his vehicle. 526 00:31:53,344 --> 00:31:57,241 And then later saw like Facebook postings that 527 00:31:57,310 --> 00:32:00,344 the police were out at the Lawndale residence 528 00:32:00,344 --> 00:32:03,448 and thought that that was suspicious. 529 00:32:03,517 --> 00:32:08,965 Justin Hicks turns over eight boxes of Tula Russian-made 530 00:32:08,965 --> 00:32:12,793 nine-millimeter ammunition and a magazine 531 00:32:12,793 --> 00:32:14,862 for a nine-millimeter pistol. 532 00:32:15,965 --> 00:32:20,000 It was Tula brand ammunition, which is steel casings. 533 00:32:20,000 --> 00:32:21,241 Nine out of 10 times, 534 00:32:21,241 --> 00:32:24,586 you're going to find brass casing at a homicide scene. 535 00:32:24,586 --> 00:32:27,758 The steel casing, well, that's kind of the ordinary. 536 00:32:27,827 --> 00:32:30,758 The ammunition that was given to us by Justin Hicks, 537 00:32:30,827 --> 00:32:33,586 it was the same caliber, the same steel casing 538 00:32:33,586 --> 00:32:35,655 that is linked to the crime scene. 539 00:32:37,379 --> 00:32:39,758 It connected John Lewis to the homicide. 540 00:32:44,172 --> 00:32:48,034 [Det. Rick Bigger speaking] 541 00:32:53,068 --> 00:32:56,034 [John Lewis speaking] 542 00:32:56,034 --> 00:32:57,517 [Det. Rick Bigger speaking] 543 00:33:02,896 --> 00:33:05,068 [John Lewis speaking] 544 00:33:05,068 --> 00:33:08,137 SUAREZ: Once we received the text from the other officers 545 00:33:08,206 --> 00:33:10,137 of the individual who had come forward, 546 00:33:10,206 --> 00:33:12,448 we knew, okay, this is definitely -- 547 00:33:12,448 --> 00:33:14,862 we were on the right track, he's definitely lying. 548 00:33:15,689 --> 00:33:17,344 So we confront him with that. 549 00:33:18,551 --> 00:33:20,965 We mentioned the name of Justin Hicks. 550 00:33:21,689 --> 00:33:26,758 [John Lewis speaking] 551 00:33:29,793 --> 00:33:32,241 -[Det. Rick Bigger speaking] -[John Lewis speaking] 552 00:33:32,310 --> 00:33:34,517 [Det. Rick Bigger speaking] 553 00:33:37,344 --> 00:33:38,758 [John Lewis speaking] 554 00:33:42,344 --> 00:33:44,655 [Det. Rick Bigger speaking] 555 00:33:48,344 --> 00:33:49,896 [exhales] 556 00:33:49,896 --> 00:33:52,862 -[Det. Rick Bigger speaking] -[John Lewis speaking] 557 00:33:53,586 --> 00:33:55,034 [Det. Rick Bigger speaking] 558 00:33:59,551 --> 00:34:02,862 [Det. Fabian Suarez speaking] 559 00:34:13,688 --> 00:34:15,620 [Det. Rick Bigger speaking] 560 00:34:18,241 --> 00:34:19,655 [John Lewis speaking] 561 00:34:23,275 --> 00:34:26,447 SUAREZ: His demeanor was okay, I'm not going to cooperate. 562 00:34:26,516 --> 00:34:29,034 All the blubbering stopped. 563 00:34:29,103 --> 00:34:31,551 He knew that he was in a bit of trouble now. 564 00:34:34,688 --> 00:34:38,000 SANDERS: The autopsy occurred the next day. 565 00:34:38,000 --> 00:34:41,241 The results of the autopsy indicated that the type of 566 00:34:41,241 --> 00:34:42,896 bullets that had struck 567 00:34:42,896 --> 00:34:46,585 Carla Lewis matched the ammunition that Justin Hicks 568 00:34:46,585 --> 00:34:48,655 had turned over to the detectives. 569 00:34:50,172 --> 00:34:53,344 That gave us enough information to initially 570 00:34:53,344 --> 00:34:58,000 arrest John Lewis for killing Carla Lewis. 571 00:35:03,137 --> 00:35:05,551 SUAREZ: Well, once you make an arrest of the suspect, 572 00:35:05,551 --> 00:35:08,034 you are still building a case to try to convict, 573 00:35:08,103 --> 00:35:11,344 to convince a jury that this person is guilty. 574 00:35:11,413 --> 00:35:13,586 We're taking calls from witnesses, 575 00:35:13,586 --> 00:35:15,965 and we're getting that information, 576 00:35:16,000 --> 00:35:18,034 just trying to build the case even stronger. 577 00:35:19,000 --> 00:35:22,241 I personally spoke to one of the daughters. 578 00:35:22,241 --> 00:35:25,448 Carla had told her that she was under a lot of stress to 579 00:35:25,448 --> 00:35:27,000 bring money into the household, 580 00:35:27,000 --> 00:35:28,896 because the business that John had 581 00:35:28,896 --> 00:35:31,758 opened up just wasn't making any money at all. 582 00:35:32,896 --> 00:35:35,448 SANDERS: John's business was failing. 583 00:35:35,517 --> 00:35:38,241 John owed back rent and was, 584 00:35:38,241 --> 00:35:44,137 in fact, moving to a smaller location in the strip mall. 585 00:35:44,137 --> 00:35:47,793 Carla appeared to be the provider. 586 00:35:47,793 --> 00:35:52,241 According to her family, the financial strain really gave 587 00:35:52,241 --> 00:35:57,965 the notion that Carla was going to end John's business. 588 00:35:57,965 --> 00:35:59,689 The only thing that was gonna help John 589 00:35:59,689 --> 00:36:03,310 be a success was to have immediate access to money. 590 00:36:05,448 --> 00:36:07,793 The family let us know that Carla 591 00:36:07,793 --> 00:36:11,655 had life insurance policy through her employer. 592 00:36:12,586 --> 00:36:14,551 In the event of Carla's death, 593 00:36:14,620 --> 00:36:18,344 John was the beneficiary of the life insurance policy that 594 00:36:18,413 --> 00:36:22,413 would pay John $334,000. 595 00:36:24,241 --> 00:36:28,413 Money could have been a motive for John to kill his wife. 596 00:36:29,586 --> 00:36:31,172 SUAREZ: One of the things that you do, 597 00:36:31,172 --> 00:36:34,551 obviously, in a crime scene is you collect all the electronics, 598 00:36:34,551 --> 00:36:37,034 cellphones, laptops, things like that. 599 00:36:37,034 --> 00:36:41,344 John had deleted quite a bit of Facebook instant messaging 600 00:36:41,344 --> 00:36:44,241 where he was making contact with several women. 601 00:36:45,482 --> 00:36:47,965 One female that had been contacted 602 00:36:48,000 --> 00:36:50,586 confirmed that she had been having an affair, 603 00:36:50,586 --> 00:36:54,137 extramarital affair, with John for several months. 604 00:36:55,689 --> 00:36:59,034 She had asked John Lewis how attached he was 605 00:36:59,103 --> 00:37:00,758 with Carla Lewis. 606 00:37:00,827 --> 00:37:02,448 He had made the comment to her that they 607 00:37:02,448 --> 00:37:05,413 were gonna be separated much sooner than she thought. 608 00:37:16,034 --> 00:37:18,275 SANDERS: Another female had come forward 609 00:37:18,275 --> 00:37:23,448 who explains to us that John Lewis would pay her in cash 610 00:37:23,517 --> 00:37:26,172 and in marijuana to have sex with her. 611 00:37:26,172 --> 00:37:28,758 And that relationship had been going on 612 00:37:28,827 --> 00:37:31,068 for the previous six years. 613 00:37:32,586 --> 00:37:35,448 She had sex with John earlier 614 00:37:35,517 --> 00:37:38,241 in the day the incident had occurred. 615 00:37:38,310 --> 00:37:42,689 What's alarming is that John Lewis asked her if she would 616 00:37:42,689 --> 00:37:45,172 be his girlfriend and leave her boyfriend 617 00:37:45,172 --> 00:37:47,448 if he became a widower. 618 00:37:48,551 --> 00:37:51,379 John Lewis had actually told her that he had thoughts 619 00:37:51,379 --> 00:37:54,551 or plans of killing Carla by using some type of 620 00:37:54,551 --> 00:37:56,758 a prescription drug. 621 00:37:56,827 --> 00:37:59,965 So we had more information for the prosecutor to show that 622 00:38:00,068 --> 00:38:02,793 he did have motive that he wanted to get rid of Carla. 623 00:38:02,793 --> 00:38:05,000 He wanted to move on with his life. 624 00:38:09,379 --> 00:38:12,137 SANDERS: In looking through John's search history, 625 00:38:12,137 --> 00:38:16,137 detectives noted that approximately 10 days 626 00:38:16,137 --> 00:38:17,758 prior to the murder, 627 00:38:17,758 --> 00:38:21,275 John was searching, purchasing pistols 628 00:38:21,275 --> 00:38:24,655 and silencers on the internet. 629 00:38:26,275 --> 00:38:28,000 SUAREZ: That's always good information, 630 00:38:28,068 --> 00:38:30,275 because John is telling us that he didn't have a gun, 631 00:38:30,275 --> 00:38:31,862 he didn't have any ammunition. 632 00:38:31,862 --> 00:38:35,000 Everything else is telling us different. 633 00:38:35,000 --> 00:38:37,172 There was definitely enough evidence to show 634 00:38:37,172 --> 00:38:39,862 that John Lewis was involved with the homicide. 635 00:38:58,965 --> 00:39:01,241 The prosecutor put together a very good case. 636 00:39:01,310 --> 00:39:04,655 It showed that John was just using Carla for her money. 637 00:39:04,724 --> 00:39:07,344 She really didn't approve of it. She didn't like it. 638 00:39:08,379 --> 00:39:11,482 There was several women that were having affairs with him, 639 00:39:11,482 --> 00:39:14,000 one that John had talked about killing Carla. 640 00:39:15,689 --> 00:39:17,965 John was going to get her life insurance 641 00:39:17,965 --> 00:39:19,448 and continue his business. 642 00:39:25,172 --> 00:39:26,655 On the day of the homicide, 643 00:39:26,724 --> 00:39:30,103 after Carla arrived at the residence, John Lewis 644 00:39:30,172 --> 00:39:31,965 asked her to help him in that grow room, 645 00:39:31,965 --> 00:39:34,758 even though her family said that she would do nothing of 646 00:39:34,758 --> 00:39:36,000 the sort. 647 00:39:36,000 --> 00:39:37,965 At that point in time, John Lewis 648 00:39:37,965 --> 00:39:41,034 murdered Carla Lewis by shooting her five times. 649 00:39:41,034 --> 00:39:44,068 [gunshots blasting] 650 00:39:47,379 --> 00:39:49,000 After the fact it happened, 651 00:39:49,000 --> 00:39:50,862 that's when John Lewis called 911 to 652 00:39:50,862 --> 00:39:53,482 report that two males had come in. 653 00:39:53,482 --> 00:39:56,931 [John Lewis speaking] 654 00:40:00,275 --> 00:40:02,965 John Lewis had contacted Justin Hicks 655 00:40:03,000 --> 00:40:04,655 on the day of the homicide, 656 00:40:04,724 --> 00:40:08,137 asked him to go back to his business and to get this bag 657 00:40:08,137 --> 00:40:10,000 that was there and keep it for him, 658 00:40:10,068 --> 00:40:11,862 and that bag contained ammunition. 659 00:40:11,862 --> 00:40:16,620 [Det. Fabian Suarez speaking] 660 00:40:25,137 --> 00:40:29,379 We had matched up the rounds to what 661 00:40:29,379 --> 00:40:34,172 Justin Hicks had turned over to what was on the scene. 662 00:40:34,172 --> 00:40:37,931 That was some damning information in this case. 663 00:41:11,137 --> 00:41:13,448 C. PRUETT: I never would have thought that 664 00:41:15,103 --> 00:41:18,931 we let this monster live amongst us. 665 00:41:21,379 --> 00:41:24,965 Nothing will ever bring my mom back, and nothing 666 00:41:24,965 --> 00:41:29,655 will ever replace all the memories that she's missed. 667 00:41:31,758 --> 00:41:34,103 I will always have an empty spot in my heart 668 00:41:34,172 --> 00:41:37,241 that is shaped like my mom. 669 00:41:39,103 --> 00:41:40,827 DAMICO: I miss her so much. 670 00:41:42,896 --> 00:41:45,482 I never had, like, a relationship with 671 00:41:45,482 --> 00:41:47,655 anybody like I had with my mom. 672 00:41:48,655 --> 00:41:50,931 I hope I see her again and... 673 00:41:52,034 --> 00:41:53,344 that she's proud of me. 674 00:41:56,103 --> 00:41:57,793 BURRINGTON: Our lives are never the same. 675 00:41:57,793 --> 00:42:01,000 You can't ever go back to normal. 676 00:42:01,000 --> 00:42:06,206 But we try and remember the fun that we had together. 677 00:42:08,862 --> 00:42:11,758 Carla's memory can live on so easily, 678 00:42:11,758 --> 00:42:14,482 because she's someone you can't forget.