PRESS RELEASE AND NOTICE OF PRESS CONFERENCE

DATE OF PRESS CONFERENCE: Thursday, March 18, 2021

TIME 11:00 a.m.

LOCATION: Sidewalk outside of building of Toni Jaramilla, APLC

1900 Avenue of the Stars
Los Angeles, CA 90067

RE: KERN COUNTY SHERIFF SHOOTS UNARMED BLACK MAN 5 TIMES IN THE BACK,
THEN FALSELY CLAIMS THAT MAN CHARGED AT HIM. DEPUTIES THEN HARASS
FAMILY MEMBERS AS THEY MOURN AT THE SITE OF HIS DEATH.

(VIDEO AVAILABLE)

Mickel Erick Lewis Jr., Oriona Lewis, Briona Lewis, individually and as successor-in-interest to
Mickel E. Lewis (Deceased) vs. Kern County, Deputy Jason Ayala

Case # 1:21-CV-00378-NONE-JLT

Press Contact: Toni Jaramilla, Esq. (310) 386-4777 (mobile); (310) 551-3020 (office)

Attending: Mickel Lewis Jr., Oriona Lewis, Briona Lewis (Children of Mickel Lewis, deceased)
And other family members

Toni Jaramilla, Civil rights attorney representing the Lewis family

Bernard Alexander, Civil rights attorney at Alexander Morrison +Fehr, LLP, representing the
family
Najee Ali, Civil Rights Leader

Immediate Press Release:

Three children of Mickel Lewis filed a wrongful death lawsuit in U.S. District Court, Eastern District of

California (Fresno) against Kern County and Kern County Sheriff’s deputy, Jason Ayala for the shooting death

of their father on October 20, 2020.

That evening, Mickel Lewis, a 39-year-old African American man just finished ordering food and

speaking to his teen daughter Briona, who was working her shift at the Wienerschnitzel in Mojave. As Lewis

pulled out of the Wienershnitzel drive-through and onto the street, Deputy Ayala immediately pulled in behind

him and initiated a traffic stop for no apparent reason. Lewis was driving, with his girlfriend in the passenger

seat and her two minor daughters in the back seat.

Lewis complied with Deputy Ayala’s instruction to exit the vehicle. Deputy Ayala and Lewis engaged in

conversation at various locations between and adjacent to Lewis and Ayala’s vehicles. Ultimately, Lewis

returned to his vehicle and Deputy Ayala issued a command. Lewis started to comply with Ayala’s command
and started to turn in the direction of Ayala. Without provocation and despite being unarmed with his hands up

in surrender, Deputy Ayala shot Lewis six times.

Kern County released a video where a narrator falsely claims that Lewis charged towards Deputy Ayala.

However, the video never actually shows Mr. Lewis charging forward. An independent autopsy confirms that

Lewis was shot 5 times in the back and once in his side. No bullets entered the front of Mr. Lewis’s torso.

Toni Jaramilla, a civil rights attorney representing the Lewis family states, “The Sheriff’s Department

claims that Mr. Lewis charged at Deputy Ayala requiring him to shoot. However, we know Ayala’s claim is

false because if Mr. Lewis had been charging forward, there would be shots to the front of the torso.”

What makes this case even more horrendous is that the Sheriff’s department harassed and intimidated

Mr. Lewis’ children and loved ones as they visited and prayed at the site of his death, lighting candles, and

placing flowers in his memory. As family members mourned, video captures numerous Sheriff vehicles

circling the mourners at the memorial site created by the Lewis family and loved ones. During the following

weeks after the shooting, deputies continued to circle around the area, at times honking, laughing, and waving

mockingly at his children. One deputy even stopped and questioned Plaintiff, Oriona Lewis, as she was visiting

her dad’s memorial. As the lawsuit alleges, deputies also threatened surrounding business owners not to

cooperate with the family or to release surveillance videos to the Lewis family or to their lawyers, which may

have captured the shooting.

Civil rights attorney, Bernard Alexander states, “When Deputies create false narratives it tells you that

they know they’ve killed someone in violation of the law. There is never a point where Ayala was in life-
threatening danger.

Mickel Lewis, Jr. states, “No one should have to bury their father because the police are afraid or

unable to do their job. We want justice not only for our family but for all the other families suffering the loss of

their loved ones at the hands of law enforcement.”