Bondsman will not be charged in fatal shooting
The bail bondsman who shot and killed a man near Bessemer City in June will not be charged, according to the District Attorney's Office.
The unnamed bondsman was, along with other bondsmen from Faith Bail Bonding, seeking 24-year-old Dalton Lee Lewis because he missed a court date, according to the District Attorney's Office.
Lewis was facing misdemeanor charges of resisting a public officer, larceny, second-degree trespass, and carrying a concealed weapon — the weapon alleged was "metallic knuckles" — as well as a felony charge of possession of heroin stemming from the same incident, according to court records.
On June 3, agents with Faith Bail Bonding tried to arrest Lewis as he sat in the driver's seat of a vehicle in the driveway of his family's home.
Lewis is alleged to have pointed a gun at the bondsmen, and one of them opened fire. Lewis' family, who disputes this account of the shooting, said that he was shot at least seven times.
District Attorney Travis Page said that investigators had to rely heavily on testimony from the bail bondsmen, as well as Lewis' girlfriend, Brittany Green, who was in the car with him when he was shot.
Tim Moore, one of the bail bondsmen who was present, told reporters at the time that Lewis was shot because he had a gun.
Green's account was different: She told reporters that Lewis did not have the gun in his hand when he was shot. Rather, Green said, he was reaching for his keys.
According to police, the gun, a revolver, was removed from the car after the shooting and placed on the hood, further muddying the investigation.
Unlike instances in which law enforcement officers shoot someone, the bail bondsmen who went to the home were not wearing body cameras. As a result, there is no body camera footage verifying their account, nor is there any home surveillance footage, Page said.
Page said that when prosecutors make a decision not to charge someone in a fatal shooting, they have to weigh their ability to prove that person's guilt in trial.
"That's exactly one of the issues that we discussed when making our decision," he said. "Again, I can't say it long enough, it would have been very helpful to have some body worn camera to show us exactly what happened."
Still, the investigation found that the shooting was justified. Bondsmen have the authority to use "reasonable" force to make an arrest, and the law also says they have the ability to kill someone in defense of a third party if they have reason to believe that person's life is in imminent danger, Page said.
For Lewis' family, the decision not to prosecute the bondsmen added a deeper sense of injustice to an already painful situation.
Lewis' mother, Lynn Spargo, said that she routinely leaves flowers and other decorations on her son's grave. Lewis was her only child.
"I'm sitting here at Christmas without my kid, and that's just not right," she said, at times speaking through tears. "They took my life from me. They might as well have took me with him."
Lewis' aunt, Kimberley White, said that she was sitting in another nearby vehicle when her nephew was shot.
Her account echoes Green's: She said that Lewis had little time to reach for a gun.
"That boy didn't have time. When I tell you they rolled up, they rolled up and jumped out shooting," she said. "The fear that was in that kid's face when he said, 'mom, I love you. I'm dying. I'm dying.'"
Spargo said that her family has been devastated by the loss.
"My whole family is suffering from this. Everybody is suffering from this," she said.
Reporter Kara Fohner can be reached at 704-869-1850 or at kfohner@gannett.com.
This article originally appeared on The Gaston Gazette: Bondsman will not be charged in fatal shooting of man who missed court
