Middletown Man Sentenced for Involvement in December Shooting

Recently a Middletown man found out his fate regarding a shooting incident that took place in December of 2022. The incident left one victim with non-fatal injuries.

Investigation of December Shooting in Middletown

On December 21, 2022, Middletown police were notified of an apparent shooting that occured on North Street in Middletown. The victim of the shooting would be treated at Garnet Health Medical Center. While investigating the scene, police were able to gather evidence which would lead to an arrest the following day of a suspect. That suspect was identified as Naajib Jackson.

Following the arrest of Jackson, police would then gather information on an accomplice. That accomplice was the man at the center of this sentencing, 36-year old Wayne Lewis. Shortly after New Year on January 5, police were able to obtain a search warrant for the residence at 4 Prospect St. While there police found a .22-caliber revolver as well as ammunition and crack-cocaine, however Lewis was not present.

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Weeks after the execution of the search warrant, police with assistance from U.S. Marshals NY/NJ Regional Fugitive Task Force were able to locate and apprehend Lewis in Newark New Jersey.

Middletown Shooting Suspects in Court

As with every individual accused of a crime, they are entitled to their day in court. That day would come for Lewis on May 17 and it was on that day in which he entered a plea of guilty to the charge of 'Attempted Criminal Possession of a Weapon in the Second Degree'.

The key piece of evidence in this case was security camera footage obtained by police in the investigation. The footage from the security camera showed Lewis hand a gun to Jackson near Park Circle in the city of Middletown.

Day of Sentencing

Yesterday, June 26, 2023 was sentencing day Wayne Lewis. When he first appeared in court in May and submitted his guilty plea, it was strongly believed that Lewis would receive the maximum sentence. This was due to the fact that Lewis already possessed a violent criminal history.

This assumption was proved to be right as Lewis was indeed sentenced to serve the maximum, 12 years to life in prison. Information regarding the charges and sentencing for the other individual involved in the crime, Naajib Jackson, is not available at this time.