Pinellas County Sheriff’s Office Deputy Junior Lewis resigned while under investigation by the Pinellas County Sheriff’s Office on Thursday, December 14, 2023.
This was related to a traffic stop that occurred at 3:16 a.m. on Saturday, July 29, 2023, in which the vehicle stopped was involved in a crash, killing a bicyclist minutes earlier. Despite the significant damage to the vehicle, Deputy Lewis released it. The crash claimed the life of 37-year-old William Rothey of St. Petersburg.
The article on the fatality crash can be found here. Suspect in Pinellas Park Fatal Hit and Run Crash booked into the Pinellas County Jail
During the internal investigation, it was alleged that Deputy Lewis failed to take any action to investigate an extensively damaged vehicle and its driver, which was displaying obvious signs of impairment, and the vehicle had been involved in a recent crash. It was concluded that Lewis intentionally stopped his body-worn and in-car video cameras from recording his interactions with the occupants. This included Deputy Lewis instructing the driver and front-seat passenger to switch seats before allowing them to leave the scene and drive to a nearby residence. Deputy Lewis failed to check the driver for warrants and verify that the passenger had a Florida driver’s license before letting them drive off.
By failing to take any investigative action during the traffic stop and allowing the driver to leave, Deputy Lewis hindered the driver from being immediately charged with DUI manslaughter, according to a PCSO Inter-Office memorandum.
During a subsequent conversation with his commander, Deputy Lewis provided false and misleading information about his actions and omitted material details about the incident. In addition, while providing sworn testimony to the State Attorney’s Office about the fatal crash, Deputy Lewis failed to provide complete and accurate details about his actions and observations during the traffic stop.
On December 14, 2023, the Administrative Review Board submitted their findings to Sheriff Gualtieri to review the matter to determine whether to substantiate the allegations. Deputy Lewis immediately and abruptly resigned from the Pinellas County Sheriff’s Office on December 14, 2023.
According to the Memorandum, Sheriff Gualtieri would have substantiated the policy violations and immediately terminated Deputy Lewis’ employment with the Pinellas County Sheriff’s Office. The matter will be referred to the Florida Department of Law Enforcement/Criminal Justice Standards and Training Commission for its consideration of action against Deputy Lewis’ Florida law enforcement certification.