FORT WAYNE, Ind. (WANE) – Fort Wayne Police have arrested a man linked to the stabbing at the Kroger in Waynedale that killed an employee Thursday morning. Fort Wayne Police have preliminarily charged Jermard J. Lewis, 30, with murder. Lewis was arrested within four hours of the crime incident following an investigation by Fort Wayne Homicide Detectives.
Lewis is currently being held at the Allen County Jail. His initial court hearing is scheduled for 9 a.m. Friday morning.
Police did not believe Lewis knew the victim, but Officer Jeremy Webb, the Public Information Sergeant with the Fort Wayne Police Department, said “maybe some words were exchanged” during an initial encounter at the stores.
The investigation began when police, fire crews, Allen County Sheriff’s officers and a TRAA ambulance responded to the grocery store on Bluffton Road just after 11 a.m.
A WANE 15 photographer at the scene saw paramedics carrying a victim out of the store on a stretcher and performing chest compressions.
According to witness accounts, FWPD determined there was a disturbance around 10:30 that morning in which a man threatened staff and then left. He came back about 30 minutes later, police said, and stabbed a woman working at the store. Employees and customers began treating the victim until emergency crews arrived, and she was taken to the hospital in life-threatening condition, Webb said.
Just two hours after the stabbing, FWPD confirmed the woman had died. According to a release, the stabbing was targeted and police did not believe there was a threat to the public.
The Allen County Coroner’s Office will release the victim’s identity, along with the cause and manner of death, at a later date. It’s not clear what the victim was stabbed with.
The Kroger on Bluffton Road is closed until further notice, store officials confirmed.
Throughout the day Thursday, customers left flowers and candles outside the store, and one person created a chalk memorial in the parking lot.
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The Manager of Corporate Affairs for Kroger’s Central Division sent WANE 15 a statement saying, “The Kroger family is saddened by the terrible news we’re hearing. The safety of our associates and customers is always our priority. Right now, our team is working with the police to assist with the investigation in any way we can. We’ll add further comment as we learn more about the incident. The store will be closed until further notice.”
Lewis Criminal Background
Lewis was previously convicted of a felony count of battery to a law enforcement officer stemming from an incident in 2017 in which he was accused of throwing a block of wood at officers who were positioned inside the Bud Meeks Justice Center next to the Allen County Jail downtown.
After throwing the block, Lewis fled only to be confronted by a Fort Wayne police officer responding to the scene.
When questioned about what happened, according to Allen Superior Court documents, Lewis told the officer he saw someone who tried to shoot him enter the justice center and that’s when he threw the block of wood.
Lewis then got into an altercation with that officer, court records said. He was accused of punching the officer in the face before trying to kick and struggle with other officers who tried to arrest him, according to court documents.
He pleaded guilty to the battery charge as part of a plea agreement that resulted in a 2-year suspended prison sentence.
Lewis violated his probation due to “failure to report” and “non- compliance with court ordered programs,” according to court records.
A judge revoked Lewis’ probation and he ultimately spent about a year in the Indiana Department of Correction before being released in 2020.
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Poster Comment:
Sling Blade lives near there.