Man Connected To Blossom Hill Road Shootings Appears In Court
SAN JOSE (CBS SF) -- A man connected with four of nearly a dozen shootings on cars along a major South San Jose road within a three-month span appeared in Santa Clara County Superior Court Thursday afternoon.
Michael James Lee Lewis, 30, stood in a red jail uniform before Superior Court Judge Allison Danner at the Hall of Justice and was arraigned on charges of being a felon in possession of a firearm and being a felon in possession of ammunition, Santa Clara County Deputy District Attorney Alexandra Ellis said after the hearing.
Lewis, who was arrested Wednesday evening, is a suspect in four of the ten shootings on Blossom Hill Road between Poughkeepsie and Monterey roads from midnight to 3:30 a.m. from May 4 to Aug. 10, police said.
No one was injured in the shootings but vehicles were damaged, according to police.
Lewis also pleaded not guilty to a misdemeanor charge of driving on a suspended license, Ellis said.
Danner denied Ellis' request to set bail at $1 million due to the threat to public safety. The judge kept Lewis in custody on $100,000 for the firearms-related charges and $2,000 for the misdemeanor.
The defendant is scheduled to return to court Friday afternoon for arraignment on additional charges related to the shootings, Ellis said.
"You have someone that's preying on people minding their own business traveling on a road, it's very dangerous," police Sgt. Enrique Garcia said outside police headquarters this afternoon.
Lewis was initially contacted around 2:30 a.m. on Aug. 14 when an officer was driving along Blossom Hill Road looking for a black Dodge Charger detectives believed was possibly involved in the shootings, Garcia said.
The officer spotted the Dodge with blacked-out windows parked in a nearby lot and approached the vehicle where he saw someone sitting behind the wheel, Garcia said.
The suspect driver, later identified as Lewis, quickly drove away and the officer followed him to Blossom Hill Road and Snell Avenue, according to Garcia.
Police gave commands to the suspect, who continued the pursuit from westbound Blossom Hill Road to northbound state Highway 85 at South Bascom Avenue, where the Dodge became disabled, Garcia said.
The suspect allegedly fled from the vehicle and ran away, but was quickly found hiding, the sergeant said.
Lewis was arrested on suspicion of felony evasion along with reckless driving, delaying and obstructing an investigation, possession of methamphetamine and possession of drug paraphernalia, Garcia said.
Lewis also had an outstanding felony warrant for DUI, according to Garcia.
The 30-year-old man was either released or posted bail soon after his August arrest, according to Garcia.
Detectives continued to investigate the shootings and obtained a search warrant for Lewis' home, where they found a handgun sent to the Santa Clara County Crime Laboratory that linked the weapon with bullets and casings found in four of the 10 shootings, Garcia said.
The 30-year-old man was recaptured at about 5:15 p.m. Wednesday at his residence near Blossom Hill Road, Garcia said.
Lewis was booked into the Santa Clara County Jail on suspicion of four counts of attempted murder and an outstanding felony warrant for a felon in possession of a handgun, police said.
"The work that the men and women of this department have done in the last three weeks is nothing short of amazing. In light of everything going on, our officers' dedication to the residents of this city is beyond reproach," police Chief Eddie Garcia said in a statement Wednesday.
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