NEW IBERIA, La. — For four years, the family of Garon Lewis has been advocating for justice for their son. Now, a man convicted in his slaying has been sentenced to life in prison.
KATC stopped by the courthouse Wednesday to sit in on the sentencing.
Bryson Johnlewis was sentenced Wednesday for the killing of 17-year-old Garon Lewis a New Iberia high school senior. He was found dead in a car back in 2019; he was shot in what prosecutors say was a case of mistaken identity.
16th Judicial District Judge Anthony Thibodeaux sentenced Johnlewis to a life in prison without parole, probation or suspension of sentence for principal to second degree murder, a 30 year sentence for conspiracy to commit second degree murder, and 20 years for felon in possession of a firearm.
Before he handed down the sentences, Thibodeaux heard testimonies from Lewis’s parents and friends, where they describe their son as a light in the community and always willing to help the elderly.
JohnLewis is one of two men indicted in Lewis’s killing.
After the sentencing, Lewis’s father Raymond "Shoe-do" Lewis tells KATC that Garon was their miracle baby and spent his whole life surprising them and preserving. He also has advice for other families going through similar tragedies.
"I would tell families this, you have to be consistent, you have to stay on top of it," Lewis says. "If you are a victim, you got to be vigilant, you have to be involved, you got to stay on top of your son or daughters case, you have too."
Lewis's mother, Roxy Lewis is satisfied with the sentencing but will always feel the hurt from her son's murder.
"It was very appropriate and fit the situation, however I wish I wouldn't have to be here doing this, it's not what I wanted to be doing. I should have had him in college in nursing doing his thing but now I'm here because his life was taken," she says.
