In the early morning hours of July 5, 2017, a tragic series of events unfolded in Columbia, South Carolina, culminating in the death of 20-year-old Mayra Sanchez. A graduate of Richland Northeast High School, Sanchez was a young woman with her life ahead of her. That morning, she was left at a local hospital in a wheelchair, suffering from a fatal gunshot wound to the upper body.
The individual who brought her to the hospital was identified as her 24-year-old boyfriend, Albertus Lewis.
Instead of seeking help for Sanchez, he abandoned her at the hospital and fled the scene. This callous act led to his swift arrest, initially on charges of obstruction of justice and misprision of a felony for his failure to report the shooting to the authorities. At the time of the incident, it was revealed that Sanchez's family had a restraining order against Lewis, indicating a troubled history in their relationship.
As the investigation progressed, the Richland County Sheriff's Department uncovered evidence that pointed to Lewis as the one who had shot Sanchez. Consequently, the charges against him were upgraded to murder, in addition to the obstruction of justice charge. The motive for the shooting remained unclear to investigators at the time.
In a turn of events that brought further distress to the community, Lewis was granted a $150,000 bond in June 2019 and was released from custody while awaiting trial for Sanchez's murder. In August 2020, while out on bond, Lewis was involved in a domestic violence call that escalated into a shootout with Lexington County sheriff's deputies. During this incident, Lewis, who was armed and holding a small child, shot and injured two deputies before being wounded himself when the officers returned fire. This second act of violence underscored the ongoing legal battle for Mayra Sanchez and the complexities of the justice system. The final disposition of the murder charge against Albertus Lewis in the death of Mayra Sanchez is not detailed in the available online sources.
