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Pima County Attorney's Office: Case against deputy who shot 19-year-old remains under review

Posted at 8:13 PM, Mar 02, 2021
and last updated 2021-03-02 22:13:56-05

TUCSON, Ariz. (KGUN) — The Pima County Attorney's Office announced Tuesday that it plans to continue review the case against the deputy who shot and killed 19-year-old Bradley Lewis earlier this year.

According to a news release, an investigation into the incident that happened in the early hours of Jan. 20 on the northwest side has been completed.

The attorney's office released the following statement to KGUN 9:

PCAO confirms the case was investigated by an experienced and well-respected PCAO staff attorney, whose opinion is that no charges against the deputy are warranted. Unfortunately, that decision was communicated to the Pima County Sheriff’s Department, the media and, subsequently, Mr. Lewis’ family without further review by PCAO senior leadership, including Pima County Attorney Laura Conover. Neither Laura nor her leadership team had been notified of the PCAO staff attorney’s opinion in the case prior to this morning, after the media had already reported the staff attorney’s conclusions.


After the tragic events last year that led to protests across Pima County and the nation, it was made clear that the public demands and deserves greater accountability from law enforcement and elected officials regarding officer-involved use-of-force. Laura has always promised transparency and accountability. Thus, all such incidents will be reviewed by PCAO senior leadership, including Laura, before charging decisions are deemed final.


As such, Laura has communicated to Eduardo Coronado, the Lewis family’s attorney, that this case remains under review.

According to PCSD, the deputy shot and killed Lewis during an investigation into suspected car break-ins. The department later revealed that Lewis was unarmed when the deputy shot him.

Following a pursuit, PCSD deputies said Lewis got out of the car quickly with something dark in his hand. They said Lewis charged at Deputy Gilbert Caudillo with the item in his hand. Caudillo fired his gun, hitting and killing Lewis.

A press release from the Pima County Sheriff's Department later said the item in Lewis' hand was a key fob on a lanyard.

The case remains under review by the PCAO.

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