Hartford police major crimes division detectives are investigating a shooting outside a Main Street club that left one man dead and two people wounded.
It was Hartford’s second homicide of 2019.
The victim was identified as Jakari Lewis, 28, who lived in the Blue Hills neighborhood.
Police were alerted to the shooting outside Vibz Uptown at 3155 Main St. at about 1:45 a.m. by the city’s Shot Spotter system. Eight rounds had been fired, police said.
Dozens of patrons were outside the club, which had just closed, and in a nearby parking lot, police said. Police arrived quickly and began assisting a person who’d been shot.
One victim, a 28-year-old man, was taken to St. Francis Hospital and Medical Center. Two other victims, Lewis and a 29-year-old woman, arrived at the hospital by private car.
Lewis died a short time later, police said. The two people who were wounded have not been identified.
Lewis had served time in prison for manslaughter, but received a reduction in his sentence after his lawyer, public defender Corrie-Ann Mainville, convinced a prosecutor and judge to give Lewis a break.
Mainville told Lewis when he went to prison that if he got no disciplinary tickets, took advantage of every program he could, got a job and worked hard, she’d try to convince the prosecutor who handled his case to consider a sentence reduction.
“This kid just stood out for me from the very beginning,” Mainville said in March 2017. He pleaded no contest to second-degree manslaughter, third-degree larceny and having a weapon in a vehicle.
On Dec. 15, 2012, Lewis, then 22, and his best friend, Jahad Belcher, 21, were in a car on Edgewood Street from which gunshots were fired. Police spotted Lewis’ black and orange Honda and Lewis punched the gas. The chase lasted only three minutes and it ended with Lewis driving into a utility pole. Belcher and his gun were thrown from the car. Belcher died at St. Francis Hospital and Medical Center.
Lewis was hurt too, suffering a broken hip and other injuries. He was still in a wheelchair in August 2013, when Hartford Superior Court Judge Joan K. Alexander sentenced him to eight years in prison and 10 years of special parole. Running from the police like he did placed the whole community at risk, the judge told him. He had to be punished.
“Although I could say good things about him at the time of the sentencing, he had to prove himself, and that’s what he did,” Mainville said.
Lewis did what Mainville told him to do. He took advantage of every program available, got a job in the prison kitchen and rose to the position of manager. He also wrote a children’s book for his twins. Lewis had a strong work ethic, is a role model and a leader, she said.
Lewis told Hartford Superior Court Judge Julia D. Dewey in March 2017 what he had done in prison to improve and rehabilitate himself and said he thought he could show others that there is life after prison. “I can show them that you can redeem yourself and become a productive member of society,” he said. He promised to work hard to prove to his family and community that he is the person they think he is.
Dewey said she believed Lewis has worked hard to improve himself. “You’re one of the exceptions,” she said. “You really have become a role model. That’s what Hartford needs — mentors and leaders.”
David Owens can be reached at dowens@courant.com.
