LAFAYETTE, Indiana — When Anthony Perez bowed in a Walmart parking lot on Sept. 4 and admitted to killing Casey Lewis, his courtroom cool was lost and his The voice was full of emotion.
Perez’s attorney, Jacob Aller, asked, “Willfully or intentionally… did you kill Casey Marie Lewis?”
“Yes,” Perez said hoarsely, reaching for a tissue.
Perez sat upright in his chair and spoke respectfully and clearly to the judge before admitting to killing Luis.
Perez pleaded guilty to murder and pleaded guilty to committing a crime using a firearm.
“I am grateful that he pleaded guilty,” Lewis’ mother Jennifer Spence said after the hearing.
Perez faces 50 to 85 years in prison when he is sentenced March 20. Under Indiana law, he must serve his 75% of the sentences he receives.
When asked about how much time Perez should take before sentencing, Spence said, “Personally, I hope he gets as much as he can. I hope he makes it through at least 60 years. increase.
“I really hope he dies in prison,” she said. “He stole my sunshine.”
Other charges in the murder – gun charges, kidnapping, threats, and imprisonment – were dismissed in exchange for Perez’s guilty plea. Additionally, his fugitive charge for removing his GPS tracking device and a petition to have his probation revoked in another case were dismissed as part of a plea bargain.
Perez, then 28, and Luis, 33, were shopping at Walmart on the east side of Lafayette that night and arguing about money.
When they got to the parking lot and Lewis’s minivan, Lewis was yelling at him to get his attention.
Perez admitted on Thursday that he was concerned that Lewis’ screaming would draw police in, and a few days ago Perez shut off the community’s corrective tracking device. He was worried Lewis would be re-arrested if he continued to yell, he confirmed in court Thursday.
After being arrested in Little Rock, Arkansas on September 9, Perez told police that he took a gun out of Lewis’ glove compartment and fired once inside the minivan.
Luis got out of the minivan and Perez pointed the gun in her direction and fired.
Perez told police he heard Luis scream and saw her reach for her back.
Lewis fell into an asphalt parking lot, where a shopper came to his rescue. However, Lewis died in Aisle 6.
After shooting Lewis, Perez left the gun in the minivan and ran west from the parking lot. He eluded police from that night onwards for his five days until he was found in Little Rock.
Please contact Ron Wilkins at rwilkins@jconline.com. Follow us on Twitter: @RonWilkins2.
