Thursday, September 28, 2023

He killed a security guard on Thanksgiving Day. Now this Newport News man is headed to prison

Coleston Ryan Lewis. left, was convicted of killing Richard Irvin, right. (Lewis photo courtesy VPRJ; file/WY Daily)
Coleston Ryan Lewis. left, was convicted of killing Richard Irvin, right. (Lewis photo courtesy VPRJ; file/HNNDaily)

A Newport News man was sentenced Tuesday to 13 years in prison for shooting and killing a security guard during a Thanksgiving Day party in 2016.

Coleston Ryan Lewis, 28, appeared in the York-Poquoson Circuit Court on four charges, including voluntary manslaughter, carrying a concealed weapon, brandishing a firearm and shooting in a public place.

A jury found Lewis guilty of the charges in May, recommending a 13-year sentence. On Tuesday, a circuit court judge did just that.

Lewis was at a Thanksgiving party at the Country Grill, at 1215 George Washington Memorial Highway in York County, when he shot and killed security guard Richard Irvin on Nov. 24, 2016.

In prior hearings, witnesses testified that Irvin broke up an altercation involving Lewis around 2 a.m. before Lewis fired shots.

Lewis was arrested Nov. 30, 2016 in Newport News following a several-day-long manhunt.

He was initially charged with first-degree murder, but the jury reduced that charge to voluntary manslaughter after Lewis’ trial May 4.

John Mangalonzo
John Mangalonzohttp://wydaily.com
John Mangalonzo (john@localdailymedia.com) is the managing editor of Local Voice Media’s Virginia papers – WYDaily (Williamsburg), Southside Daily (Virginia Beach) and HNNDaily (Hampton-Newport News). Before coming to Local Voice, John was the senior content editor of The Bellingham Herald, a McClatchy newspaper in Washington state. Previously, he served as city editor/content strategist for USA Today Network newsrooms in St. George and Cedar City, Utah. John started his professional journalism career shortly after graduating from Lyceum of The Philippines University in 1990. As a rookie reporter for a national newspaper in Manila that year, John was assigned to cover four of the most dangerous cities in Metro Manila. Later that year, John was transferred to cover the Philippine National Police and Armed Forces of the Philippines. He spent the latter part of 1990 to early 1992 embedded with troopers in the southern Philippines as they fought with communist rebels and Muslim extremists. His U.S. journalism career includes reporting and editing stints for newspapers and other media outlets in New York City, California, Texas, Iowa, Utah, Colorado and Washington state.

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