Ten Years Later, Law Enforcement Still Nowhere to Be Found on Sonny Lewis Killing

Who killed Sonny Wayne Lewis outside the E. 2nd Street Walmart in Reno on tribal territory on Jan. 27 2013, in the very early morning hours; and why hasn’t law enforcement tried harder to find out?

The case was given to the FBI and the local U.S. Attorney’s Office to investigate as it took place on tribal lands, but a decade later, we still don’t know who the killer was and why the case hasn’t been pursued more vigorously.

There are members of our community who will never forget Lewis, who grew up on the small local Reno-Sparks Indian Colony. 

There are recurring social media posts with the hashtags #JusticeforSonny and #JusticeforSonnyLewis.

Lewis was a father of three, with another child on the way, and an avid boxer who made a living installing solar panels. He also had a criminal record, and previous struggles with alcohol and drugs. But he was trying to improve himself, and had signed up to get his GED. 

Screengrab above from the Reno Cop Watch Facebook.

To honor the memory of the 25-year-old Paiute-Shoshone, his family and friends have marched repeatedly on January 27ths to the spot where his life was taken away.

“My son deserves love and respect from all that walked with him,” his mother Sheri Potts has said. “He was everyone’s warrior and protector.” 

A Walmart employee at the time subsequently told reporters that after a loud noise, he saw a man and two women drag Lewis. The victim appeared to have a gunshot wound to the chest. The employee’s efforts to administer CPR and those of REMSA afterwards were unsuccessful.  

Media reports have indicated the Walmart store manager and the FBI believe the person who shot Lewis was a tall, heavyset, bald, white man with tattoos.  A sketch of the potential suspect was drawn. Someone on social media said they heard him bragging about the killing.

Reno Cop Watch wrote two years ago the shooter was known to police and Sonny’s loved ones but that “law enforcement said they didn’t have enough to prosecute.” The post went on to say: “Sonny wasn’t murdered by law enforcement but he and his family were certainly failed by them.” 

They deserve an ongoing, strenuous investigation, and not what we’ve gotten over the past ten years.   Will anyone step up? 

Our Reporting Highlights This Week

Annemarie Grant whose brother died after being hog tied at the Washoe County jail in 2015 got some answers about a recent officer involved killing outside Sparks PD headquarters, and explains how she got the identities of two police shooters, before her requests came back redacted.

As part of our #humansofreno series, Dustin shares in detail how his wife was the victim of someone known as the Sun Valley shooter and how they’ve tried to rebuild their lives, going from homelessness to living in motels and trying to regain custody of her children.

Our recommended Reno read is I Love You But I’ve Chosen Darkness, by Claire Vaye Watkins.

Our #keeprenorad feature is with Spitting Image teaming up with Sticker Guy to release a new punk album.

Our Park Place Diaries series concluded with Jaedyn Young (above) writing how new luxury apartments are part of the problem in Reno and not the solution.

Our podcast is with Lynette Eddy, the founder of the Eddy House, who has just published a new book called The Fight Inside, Winning the Battle Between Your Ego and True Spirit.