OAKLAND — A man who police identified as the suspected shooter in a deadly exchange of gunfire last August has been sentenced to probation and one day in jail for possessing a firearm as a felon, court records show.
King Jamil Stevenson, 32, pleaded no contest to the charge just six weeks after it was filed. Stevenson was arrested on suspicion of carrying a 9mm handgun one day after the deadly Aug. 12 shootout that killed 41-year-old Jermil Lewis, of Oakland.
Lewis was shot around 4:45 a.m. Aug. 12, on the 700 block of 21st Street in West Oakland. Police spoke to a security guard who later told them that a man living out of a Jeep — later identified as Stevenson — had confronted a group of burglars attempting to break into a marijuana dispensary and exchanged gunfire with them. The guard said he couldn’t tell who shot first, authorities said.
Police said in court filings that Lewis matched the description of the burglar Stevenson shot. Members of Lewis’ family have sent emails to this news organization adamantly denying he was involved in the burglary.
Lewis was not allowed to possess guns due to two felony convictions, for assault in 2021 and false imprisonment earlier this year. In 2022, he was also charged with attempted murder for allegedly shooting a man near Lake Merritt, but that charge was later dismissed.