Perry County jail needed 3 people, 2 stun gun shots to subdue suspect in jailer’s shooting, affidavit says

Details in killing of jailer emerge

A Taser X26, a type of stun gun, is displayed in this Nov. 14, 2013 file photo. (AP/Michael Conroy)
A Taser X26, a type of stun gun, is displayed in this Nov. 14, 2013 file photo. (AP/Michael Conroy)

The 37-year-old North Little Rock convicted killer accused of fatally shooting Perry County jailer Jeremiah James Story on Wednesday night shrugged off two stun-gun blasts before deputies, assisted by a jail inmate, could subdue him, an arrest affidavit states.

Roderick Deshawn Lewis' gun jammed after he shot the 21-year-old correctional officer from Oppelo, according to the sworn statement by Arkansas State Police Special Agent Scott Luter.

A funeral for Story, a 2020 graduate of Bigelow High School who had served in the Army National Guard, is scheduled for 2 p.m. Tuesday at Perryville Baptist Church. The service will be livestreamed on YouTube, according to the obituary from Harris Funeral Homes of Morrilton.

Lewis, now charged with capital murder, is being held in the Faulkner County jail without bond.

The arrest affidavit indicates law officers encountered Lewis by chance about 9:15 p.m. Wednesday when Perry County Sheriff's Deputy Denise Youngblood, returning from completing a prisoner transport, came across Lewis in a silver Ford Taurus parked on Arkansas 10 just inside the county.

Talking to Lewis, the deputy reported smelling marijuana on him and from inside from the car. Youngblood checked Lewis' background and discovered that he had been convicted of capital murder, prompting her to call for backup.

With the arrival of a second deputy, John Wilson, Lewis was removed from the car and found to be intoxicated. Lewis was handcuffed and transported in Youngblood's patrol car to the Perry County jail while Wilson stayed with Lewis' vehicle to wait for a tow truck. A third deputy, Sonny Clifford, followed Youngblood to jail.

The affidavit notes that several times during the trip to jail, Lewis asked Youngblood whether the vehicle following them was a police car.

At the jail, Clifford asked Lewis "if he had anything on him he shouldn't have," although the affidavit does not describe how Lewis responded to the question or whether he was searched. Lewis was taken into the jail and handcuffed to a bench.

A short time later, Story and jail trusty George White took Lewis into the restroom to put him in a jail uniform. The affidavit states that while they were attempting to undress him, Lewis began to scuffle with the other men before pulling a 9mm handgun from his shorts and shooting Story in the chest. Investigators said the slaying occurred about 10:20 p.m. Wednesday.

Hearing the shot, Clifford entered the room and found Story on the floor, with White pinning Lewis to the wall. A stun gun was used on Lewis but it did not subdue him, according to the affidavit.

As White and Clifford were trying to restrain Lewis, Youngblood came in and also used her stun gun, which did not affect Lewis, the affidavit states.

The inmate and deputies were able to overpower Lewis and lock him in the drunk tank. When Clifford examined Lewis' pistol, he found that the spent shell casing had jammed in the ejection port, which kept the gun from firing more than once, the affidavit states.

In 2002, Lewis was 17 when he was twice sentenced to prison, receiving a 10-year term for an aggravated robbery conviction for holding up a man at gunpoint in North Little Rock in February 2000, then receiving a life sentence for killing a 35-year-old father of six in August 2001 in North Little Rock.

Lewis' life sentence was nullified in 2016 by an Arkansas Supreme Court ruling based on a 2012 U.S. Supreme Court decision that found no-parole life sentences to be unconstitutional for teenagers, and he was subsequently sentenced to 20 years in prison in September 2019.

The reduced term left 22 months on his sentence and made Lewis immediately parole eligible. He was approved for release in August 2020. Court records show he received a traffic ticket in Little Rock in December 2020.

In November 2021, Little Rock police arrested Lewis on a felony domestic-violence charge, accusing him of choking his girlfriend. He spent two nights in jail before posting $50,000 and had been free until Wednesday's arrest.


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