Woman pleads guilty to killing man in Severn

She faces up to 40 years in prison for murder that occurred in August 2022

A 19-year-old woman pleaded guilty this month to second-degree murder in the shooting of a man who was found dead in the front seat of a car in 2022, court records show.

Vanae Lewis faces up to 40 years in prison for the murder of Naim Rashid Addison, a 20-year-old from Severn who was shot in the head in August 2022.

A sentencing date in Anne Arundel County Circuit Court has not yet been scheduled, according to the Maryland Judiciary.

Public defenders Bethany Skopp and Tovia Edmonds, who represented Lewis, were not immediately available for comment. A spokesperson for the Anne Arundel County Office of the Public Defender did not immediately respond to an email request for comment.

On Aug. 21, 2022, police responded to the area of Pioneer Drive and Arwell Court in Severn after callers told emergency personnel that a car had collided with a tree and that an injured person was still inside. They also told authorities they had seen multiple people flee the area on foot and believed someone had been shot.

When police arrived on the scene, they found

Addison in the driver’s seat of a tan 2008 Honda Civic, according to charging documents. He was pronounced dead at a local hospital.

A passenger who survived the shooting told detectives Addison had gone to Arwell Court for a drug transaction. The passenger, whom police didn’t name in court filings, said Lewis had texted Addison before the shooting with specific directions on where to meet.

When the Civic arrived in Arwell Court, someone came to the driver’s side window to pay for the drugs, the passenger said. Soon, however, two masked assailants approached the vehicle on the passenger side, one armed with a black and silver handgun. When Addison discovered he was in danger, he put the car in drive and one of the masked people fired into the vehicle, according to charging documents.

Addison was hit and the car accelerated and crashed into an embankment, police said. Surveillance footage showed several people running away from the scene, including one person with distinctive Under Armour

Surveillance footage showed several people running away from the scene, including one person with distinctive Under Armour shoes.

shoes, who ran into a nearby house with a hand in their pocket.

After learning about Lewis from the passenger, police found a photo of shoes on her social media similar to the pair recorded by surveillance.

Using a search warrant to get into her Instagram account, authorities said they also found “numerous messages” from people who had contacted Lewis hoping to buy cannabis.

On Dec. 16 a search warrant was served at Lewis’ home in Severn, where officers found a pound of cannabis, a pair of Under Armour shoes and a black-and-silver 40mm Smith & Wesson handgun in the laundry room.

When asked about the weapon, Lewis said she had found it near Arwell Court but couldn’t remember when. She then admitted she had been at the court at the time of the shooting but denied any involvement.

Lewis was arrested on drug possession and firearm offenses. The charges from that case were placed on the inactive docket. Held without bail at the time, Lewis was charged with Addison’s murder three months later.

Police spokesperson Marc Limansky confirmed Wednesday homicide detectives’ investigation into the death is still open.