In the early morning hours of October 16, 2016, the life of Lewis Puryear Jr., a 30-year-old male, was tragically cut short in Rochester, New York. He was found on Orchard Street, the victim of a fatal shooting. The incident that led to his untimely death is believed to have started at a house party. An argument is thought to have erupted after the party, escalating into an exchange of gunfire.
It was during this violent altercation that Puryear was struck and killed.
The investigation into the death of Lewis Puryear Jr. brought additional sorrow to his family, as he was the nephew of the late Reverend Lewis Stewart, a prominent local civil rights leader and the founder of the United Christian Leadership Ministries. This connection brought a significant amount of public attention to the case. Despite the investigative efforts of law enforcement, the search for definitive answers and justice has been fraught with challenges.
In the course of the investigation, two individuals were apprehended and faced charges related to the possession of firearms. However, investigators conveyed to Puryear's mother, Marcella Cunningham, their belief that neither of these individuals was responsible for firing the shot that killed her son. The presence of extensive gunfire at the scene made it exceedingly difficult to pinpoint the origin of the fatal bullet. Consequently, the case was closed after these arrests, leaving the identity of the person responsible for his death unknown. The homicide of Lewis Puryear Jr. is now considered a cold case, one of the many unsolved murders in the city of Rochester, leaving his family with unanswered questions and a profound sense of loss.
