Former cop gets probation in drunk shooting incident
NEWARK – A former Zanesville police officer was sentenced to three years of community control on Friday morning after he pleaded guilty to charges related to a shooting incident in Newark.
Charles A. Lewis, 35, of Gnadenhutten, pleaded guilty to one count each discharge of a firearm on prohibited premises, a third-degree felony; improper handling of a firearm in a motor vehicle, a fourth-degree felony; and using weapons while intoxicated, a firstdegree misdemeanor, in Licking County Common Pleas Court.
In February 2020, Licking County law enforcement responded to reports of someone firing a weapon out of a moving vehicle on Ohio 16 eastbound near Marne Road in Newark. The suspect vehicle, a 2015 Ford Fusion, was located in Muskingum County and stopped in the area of Kearns Drive.
Co-defendant Jarred A. Miracle, 40, of Zanesville, a former Zanesville police sergeant, was identified as the driver by the Licking County Sheriff’s Office. Lewis, who at the time was on medical leave as a Zanesville police officer, was identified as the passenger. Law enforcement noted both Miracle and Lewis appeared to be under the influence of alcohol at the time.
The LCSO said they found two firearms in the vehicle, an AR-15 owned by Lewis and a Glock 42 .380-caliber owned by Miracle.
In court on Friday, Assistant Licking County Prosecutor Cliff Murphy argued the case warranted a prison term.
“Your Honor, as noted in the motion to dismiss the one-year firearm specification in this particular case, the defense made no bones about it that they planned to come into the court and blame Jarred Miracle for shooting out the window, that they were planning on taking no responsibility for the actions,” Murphy said. “This case is a complete betrayal of trust by someone who was a police officer and wore the uniform, especially in this day and age when so many people who wear that same uniform are under assault from different groups about double standards and how they don’t apply.”
Murphy said witnesses who followed the vehicle reported gunshots from the passenger side of the vehicle. He also noted at the time of his arrest, Lewis had no difficulty asking arresting officers why he couldn’t walk home. The prosecutor argued Lewis wasn’t at the level of intoxication that he couldn’t make decisions.