A 39-year-old Los Angeles man was sentenced to 21 years in state prison this week for killing a man in front of a Gardena grocery store after an altercation that began over the lack of a mask, authorities said.
Umeir Cornish Hawkins did not cite voluntary manslaughter and was sentenced in the Torrance Supreme Court on Tuesday, October 26, said Greg Riesling, a spokesman for the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office.
It was unclear on Friday if there was a fight and shooting about anything other than a mask dispute.
Hawkins was working as a security guard at Green Farm Market in 2300 Rosecrans Avenue when he shot and killed 50-year-old Jerry Lewis from Gardena on July 5, 2020, Gardena police said.
Lewis was in the parking lot waiting for a tow truck because he had two flat tires when he initially decided to walk into the store, Gardena Police Lieutenant Christopher Cuff said.
Hawkins stopped Lewis after he entered the store without a mask, and they began to argue. Lewis left briefly, but returned and the two men began physical struggles.
According to Cuff, Carter, who was standing in the parking lot waiting for Hawkins’ shift to end, saw the fight, walked in with a gun and pointed it at Lewis and other clients to protect her husband.
According to Cuff, the people stopped fighting, but Hawkins pulled out his pistol and shot Lewis as he walked to his car.
The coroner’s report revealed that Lewis died of multiple gunshot wounds.
