In the early morning hours of January 8, 2021, the life of 31-year-old Samuel R. Johns, a Caucasian male, was tragically cut short in his Lewiston, Idaho, home. Responding to a report of a shooting at approximately 1:40 a.m., Lewiston police discovered Johns on his living room floor with multiple gunshot wounds to his head and neck. Medics who arrived at the scene determined that he had died from his injuries.
The events leading to the fatal shooting began to unfold when two individuals broke into the residence through a back door. A woman inside the home told authorities that the intruders forced her to the ground and bound her wrists with zip ties while holding her at gunpoint. She managed to break free and lock herself in a bathroom, from where she heard two or three gunshots. After the assailants fled, she emerged to find Johns wounded and immediately called for help.
The investigation into Samuel Johns' death quickly pointed to a father and son, Clyde K. Ewing and his 16-year-old son, Demetri X. Ewing. Family members of Johns informed police that they believed the Ewings were responsible, suggesting the motive was a dispute over a stolen backpack and a handgun. Investigators found evidence at the scene, including spent 9mm shell casings and the zip ties used to restrain the female witness. They also discovered shoe and bicycle tire prints outside the home.
Authorities arrested both Clyde and Demetri Ewing for the first-degree murder of Samuel Johns. Demetri, though a minor, was charged as an adult. During the legal proceedings, prosecutors detailed how the father and son had ridden bicycles from a motel in Clarkston, Washington, to Johns' home in Lewiston with the intent to commit a burglary related to a missing Army bag and a gun. In April 2022, a jury found Demetri Ewing guilty of first-degree murder after nearly two weeks of trial. He was later sentenced to life in prison with the possibility of parole after 25 years. His father, Clyde Ewing, was also convicted and sentenced to life in prison, but without the possibility of parole.
