Two recent shootings in Lexington are being considered ‘justifiable’ or ‘self-defense’
The Lexington Police Department said it is investigating a shooting on Main Street on New Year’s Day and a fatal shooting at a convenience store last month as “justifiable/self-defense.”
Two women have been charged in the Main Street shooting, and police said last week they were looking for a third suspect.
A police spokeswoman said in an email that the shooting was being investigated as “justifiable/self-defense” in response to a question from the Herald-Leader about why the shooting was not included in an online list of shooting investigations this year.
“Investigations determined to be unfounded or justifiable are not included on the list,” she said.
Monteza Long, 24, and Jonneisheia Lewis, 33, are both facing charges of wanton endangerment and discharging a firearm in city limits in connection with the shooting.
Lewis, who also is facing a charge of possession of a handgun by a convicted felon, was shot during the incident, court records state. Her arrest citation says she fired a gun near a large crowd of people, which resulted in other people firing shots in return.
The shooting, the first in Lexington in 2024, was reported at 1:59 a.m. Jan. 1 on the 100 block of West Main.
Police said last week that Lavonne Smith, 30, was wanted on an active warrant for possession of a handgun by a convicted felon in connection with the incident. Court documents indicate he has since been apprehended.
The fatal convenience store shooting that police said they also believe is “justifiable/self-defense” happened the night of Dec. 12 at the Winburn Mini Mart on Winburn Drive and resulted in the death of Robert Marshall, 33, according to the coroner’s office.
Police said they took a person at the scene into custody, but they later said that person was no longer detained and no arrests had been made.
Excluding that shooting from the list of homicides brings the city’s 2023 homicide total down to 24, according to the police department’s website. The police department says it investigated 44 homicides in 2022, which was an annual records.
Aside from the Main Street shooting, police say three people have been injured in shootings so far in Lexington this year, including a 26-year-old male who was shot Jan. 1 on the 1800 block of Linton Road and a 22-year-old man and 55-year-old woman who were shot on the 2700 block of Red Clover Lane Jan. 7.
Last year, the police department says it investigated 84 non-fatal shootings.
Reporter Christopher Leach contributed to this story.
