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Man who shot at deputies claims 'Stand Your Ground'
Aaron Mesmer reports.
TAMPA, Fla. - The third day of a Stand Your Ground hearing wrapped up on Thursday in the case of Harold Lewis, the Tampa attorney accused of opening fire on Hillsborough County deputies during a welfare check at his home in April 2021.
What we know:
Deputies arrived at Lewis’ home for a welfare check on his son when the encounter took a dangerous turn. Body camera video captured deputies shouting commands from outside the residence.
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"Sheriff’s office, come out with your hands up! Watch out! Shots fired!" one deputy is heard yelling just before several gunshots rang out.
Investigators said Lewis fired at least seven shots, with one round striking a deputy’s vehicle. He was arrested and charged with three counts of attempted first-degree murder of law enforcement.
No deputies returned fire, and no one was injured during the incident.
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The other side:
Lewis’ attorney, Richard Escobar, argued that his client never knew deputies were outside the house. He claims Lewis did not hear the commands and believed he was in danger from an unknown threat.
Escobar grilled the lead detective, Cley Hobelmann, on the stand for not conducting a sound test to determine whether verbal commands could be heard inside Lewis' home.
"Come out with your hands up, sheriff's office. Then louder. Come out your hands up, sheriff's office. Even louder," Escobar said in court, suggesting this kind of test might have clarified Lewis’ state of mind. "That would have been a good idea, right?"
"Depending on if we could have even replicated that. Yes, sir," Det. Hobelmann replied.
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Escobar also emphasized Lewis’ long-time support for law enforcement, pointing out that the attorney had donated to police causes and never would have intentionally harmed officers.
"You would agree when we make mistakes in homicide investigations, innocent people go to prison," Escobar told the court.
Det. Hobelmann said while Lewis' background is noted, it didn’t impact the charges.
"I wouldn't hold that as any sort of golden rule of ‘Oh geez, he's a friend of law enforcement, so we better treat him carefully,’" Hobelmann testified.
Additionally, the defense claims Lewis was involuntarily intoxicated, affected by a combination of substances in his system, including pseudoephedrine and alcohol, which allegedly impaired his judgment.
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Escobar challenged whether the state had evidence that Lewis was in control of his actions: "If he's really intoxicated, he's got half a glass of wine there, are you telling me he got intoxicated with half a glass of wine?"
What's next:
The hearing will continue on Friday, when Harold Lewis is expected to testify on his own behalf.
If the judge agrees with the defense that Lewis was standing his ground, he could be released immediately. If not, the case will move forward to trial.
The Source: Information for this story was gathered from testimony presented during Harold Lewis’ Stand Your Ground hearing and reporting from FOX 13 News.