FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: David Chapman
Phone: (904) 255-3004
Cell: (904) 524-6626
ChapmanD@coj.net
August 3, 2023
TERRELL LEWIS PLEADS GUILTY TO MURDERS, SENTENCED TO 50 YEARS
State Attorney Melissa Nelson announces that Terrell Lewis pleaded guilty to three Counts of Second-Degree Murder, Burglary to a Structure/Conveyance with Assault/Battery, and Child Abuse, all related to an April 2022 triple murder. Per the terms of that plea agreement, Lewis, 39, was sentenced to 50 years in Florida State Prison with a 50-year minimum mandatory, which ensures he will serve every day of his sentence.
During the Aug. 3, 2023, hearing, Lewis also pleaded guilty to the court to Second-Degree Murder related to the March 2022 killing of a victim in a road-rage crime. With his plea, Lewis now faces 25 years to Life in Florida State Prison with a 25-year minimum mandatory. He will be sentenced during a hearing the week of Aug. 24, 2023.
In the April 29, 2022, crime, the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office responded to a University Boulevard apartment for a welfare check after a 911 caller reported hearing gunshots and screaming from a nearby residence. When officers arrived, they found a deceased female with multiple gunshot wounds near the front door and two additional victims with gunshot wounds in other rooms in the apartment. The investigation determined all three were siblings. Lewis was in a relationship with one of the victims and the two shared an 8-year-old son. Lewis and his young son were not present at the scene, and the car of one of the victims was missing. An Amber Alert was issued and law enforcement determined Lewis was near Little Pottsburg Creek, just south of the crime scene. When officers arrived, they found Lewis near a bridge and the victim’s car nearby. Lewis’ son was unharmed and provided statements to officers corroborating Lewis’ crimes.
In the March 20, 2022, crime, the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office was dispatched to Welland Road regarding a shooting. Officers found a deceased driver behind the wheel of an SUV with gunshot wounds to her head. Surveillance footage and witnesses revealed the SUV was being closely followed by a small black sedan. There were few leads until Lewis’ arrest for the April 2022 crime, when his son provided information that he was present at the time of the March 2022 road rage incident in which Lewis shot at the woman in the SUV after she cut him off in traffic. Further investigation revealed Lewis was in the area at the time of the murder.
The April 2022 crime was investigated by the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office and prosecuted by Assistant State Attorney Trey Atkinson. The March 2022 crime was investigated by the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office and prosecuted by Assistant State Attorney Katelyn Johnston.