LONG BEACH, Calif.—A Long Beach man was convicted May 15 of first-degree murder for the shooting death of a woman who was newly pregnant with a baby that was believed to be his child.
The Long Beach jury deliberated about two hours before finding Tremaine Lewis, now 32, guilty of the killing of Alicia Faith Todd, 21, in Long Beach in the early morning hours of June 24, 2015.
Jurors also found true an allegation that Mr. Lewis personally discharged a firearm during the commission of the crime.
He is facing a maximum of 50 years to life in state prison, according to Deputy District Attorney Marlon Duke Powers. Sentencing is set June 7 before Superior Court Judge Richard M. Goul.
In closing arguments Tuesday, the prosecutor told jurors that the victim went to Planned Parenthood a day earlier for testing to confirm her suspicion that she was pregnant, and that “the defendant’s entire world was changing in those 48 hours leading up to Alicia’s death.”
“This complication in Tremaine Lewis’ life was solved with three bullets,” Mr. Powers told the jury.
The woman, who lived in Signal Hill, was found dead in an alley between Orange and Lemon avenues, north of 21st Street, according to Long Beach police.
Police said soon after the killing that the person who called 911 to report seeing the victim’s body in the alley had heard gunshots about an hour earlier.
The victim was clutching a pair of keys, indicating that she had intended to return home, but her cell phone was never found, the prosecutor told jurors.
DNA testing on embyronic material recovered from the victim showed that it contained DNA that matched the defendant’s genetic profile and is found in 1 in 18 million people, according to the deputy district attorney, who said the victim was “no more than a side girl” to Mr. Lewis and that the pregnancy complicated his relationship with his girlfriend.
Defense attorney Stephen R. Kahn acknowledged that what happened was “indeed a tragedy,” but said “not one piece of direct evidence puts the defendant there” in the alley at the time of Ms. Todd’s killing.
“There’s no pressure on him to eliminate her ... to get her out of the way,” the defense attorney said, adding that Mr. Lewis’s girlfriend was aware of his relationship with the victim.
He noted that Ms. Todd was about four to five weeks pregnant and had found out about her pregnancy a day or two before she was killed, but questioned whether it was “so life-shattering” that she was pregnant.
“Why would he kill her because she was pregnant?” Mr. Kahn asked jurors. “This case makes no sense. ... There is no reason to kill this young woman.”
Mr. Lewis has remained behind bars since he was arrested by Long Beach police in February 2016.
The victim’s uncle, Mack A. Jenkins, said the announcement of the verdict marked “justice” after nearly nine years.
“He’s a sociopathic predator,” he told City News Service. “I tried to warn Alicia about men like him.”
Mr. Jenkins, who carried a photo of his cousin’s high school graduation photo with him to court, said his family has “waited a long time ... for this day.”
“The defendant destroyed not just Alicia’s life, but the life she was going to create for her child,” said Mr. Jenkins, a federal prosecutor.
He called the jury’s verdict a “vindication of our family’s pursuit for justice.”
The victim’s oldest sister, Patricia Franklin, said she has “been waiting for this so long” and said it felt “rejuvenating to receive the guilty verdict.” She said she wanted her sister to know that “justice was served for you today.”
Just after the verdict, an unidentified woman rushed out of court while saying, “He didn’t kill nobody over no baby.”
Mr. Lewis’ attorney said he was “disappointed” with the verdict, saying that “it made no sense for him to kill her.”
“His family believed in innocence. He’s not a violent guy,” Mr. Kahn said of his client, who worked as a foreman at a warehouse. “I believed in my client. I believe in the court system and the court system spoke.”
The defense attorney said he expects Mr. Lewis to appeal his conviction.
