Man Gets 5 Years in Prison Over Assaulting Casino-Goer, Robbing Them of $38K

One of a trio of attackers who assaulted an elderly casino patron and beat him up, leaving him in the street near the victim’s home, has been handed down a nearly five-year prison sentence. The patron had won $38,000 when the trio followed him home and assaulted him. They were supposedly assisted by other people who identified the victim at the casino.

Man Gets Beaten Outside Home by Trio of Assailants

Shawn Eric Lewis Jr., 37, was sentenced on Tuesday in Washington County District Court to 58 months in prison. He pleaded guilty to first-degree aggravated robbery in January and will now serve his sentence, minus the time he spent in custody already. Because of his cooperation, Lewis Jr. had other charges against him dropped, which must have significantly reduced his sentence – an early parole, however, is not very likely.

The victim, a 68-year-old man, was assaulted on the morning of December 10, 2023, when the person was returning home. The three men, among whom were Lewis Jr.’s alleged accomplices, Deangelo Romaine Jacox and Tristin Tyler Jacox Mann, assaulted the victim and made off with $38,000 in casino winnings.

The name of the victim had not been released to the press at his request. However, the assault was witnessed by the victim’s family, including his girlfriend and her niece, who were held at gunpoint. Although Lewis Jr. did receive leniency insofar as the other charges against him were dismissed, he got the maximum penalty for the charges that stood.

Further leniency was ruled on the basis that Lewis Jr. was a fentanyl addict who struggled to control his habit and was compelled to secure money to buy more drugs.

More People Involved in the Attack on the Anonymous Victim

This argument, Judge Siv Mjanger said, would not hold in this particular case because of the nature of the brutal assault. “Addiction is an explanation,” the judge said, but it hardly constitutes an excuse to act the way the defendant had acted.

As to the victim, he was terrified that his assailants might target him later or through proxies, and he has chosen to stay anonymous because of that.

However, Lewis Jr., Jacox, and Mann have not acted all on their own, and they have possibly coordinated with two other men, bringing the crew that assaulted the unsuspecting man to five.

The remaining co-defendants will be appearing in court later this year.