BRADDOCK, Pa. — Monday marks six years since a shooting outside a club in Braddock left a 39-year-old man dead.
Jason Lewis was a husband, father and new grandfather. Now he has three additional grandchildren, whom he never got the chance to meet. Lewis was also a business owner and known for giving back to his community, coaching little league and holding events like backpack giveaways.
“The unfairness of it weighs on you,” said Rick Lewis. “The one thing I’ve had to learn throughout these six years is patience.”
Jason Lewis was shot on February 16, 2020. He died at the hospital.
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11 Investigates asked Allegheny County Police if there are any new developments in the case. A spokesman said they have no new leads and urge people who witnessed what happened that night to come forward. Anonymous tips have trickled in in the past, and while detectives welcome those, they say they need someone willing to testify.
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Rick Lewis said some of those witnesses were friends or acquaintances of his son. He believes they’re staying silent out of fear but urges them to step up.
“You have a lot of people that call themselves your friend. But how many are there when the quiet times come? When all the hoopla is gone? When all the balloons have been released? How many of them are still there?” Rick Lewis said.
Jason was Rick’s only son. The tragedy rocked him, and the lack of arrests in the case has only made him angrier and more frustrated over the years.
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“Justice for Jason. He deserves that,” Rick Lewis said.
There are many days he feels like he’s drowning in grief, but he credits his faith in God for keeping him standing upright.
Every year, on the anniversary of his son’s death, he displays a memorial for his son in his living room, puts on a hat that reads “justice,” and shares Jason’s story.
“I don’t care if it’s six years or 16 years or 60 years, it doesn’t matter. Until he gets justice, you’re going to see this face,” he said.
Rick Lewis also had a message for the shooter.
“You know who you are, and the police know you are. One day you’re going to get that knock at the door,” he said.
He prays daily for an arrest.
Until then, he says, “as long as I’m here, I’m going to continue to fight for my son… What was done in the dark will come to the light.”
Rick Lewis recently started serving on the Families Seeking Justice board. The support group focuses on helping the families of murder victims in the Mon-Valley and beyond. They also work collaboratively with police to try to get cases closed.
The impact of violence is widespread. Hundreds of families across Allegheny County can relate to Rick Lewis.
11 Investigates has been analyzing the neighborhoods where homicides and unsolved cases are stacking up. Our exclusive investigation Getting Away with Murder airs Wednesday at 5:30 p.m. on Channel 11.
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