In the late afternoon of October 9, 2012, the life of 18-year-old Malik Nigel Lewis, a Black/African American male, was tragically cut short in Newport News, Virginia. Originally from Warwick, New York, Lewis had moved to Newport News to live with his aunt. On that fateful day, a chance encounter at a Kangaroo Express gas station and convenience store with a man named Ronald Coleman Ausby Jr. would have deadly consequences.
The two men, who were strangers to each other, exchanged words after leaving the store.
The verbal altercation, reportedly initiated when Lewis addressed Ausby, quickly escalated. Although companions of both men initially de-escalated the situation, the conflict was far from over. As Lewis and his friend Zaccheus Miller walked away from the scene, Ausby, who had been drinking and smoking marijuana with friends throughout the day, followed them. He then produced a. 38-caliber handgun and opened fire on Lewis. The young man was struck multiple times in the back, face, and arms, with the medical examiner testifying he had been shot between four and seven times.
Shortly after the homicide, Ronald Coleman Ausby Jr. was arrested and charged with murder and the use of a firearm in the commission of a felony. During his trial, Ausby's defense attorneys argued for a lesser charge of voluntary manslaughter or second-degree murder. They claimed their client was in an enraged state and too intoxicated to fully comprehend his actions, and also pointed to the fact that Ausby had been drinking heavily following the recent death of his mother.
Despite these arguments, the court was not swayed. Circuit Court Judge Timothy S. Fisher found Ronald Coleman Ausby Jr. guilty of first-degree murder. The conviction brought a legal conclusion to the senseless act of violence that ended Malik Nigel Lewis's young life. The case served as a stark reminder of the devastating impact of gun violence and the tragic outcomes of altercations that spiral out of control.
