Mother & brother of convicted murderer accused of conspiring to smuggle drugs into DC Jail

WASHINGTON — The mother and brother of a man convicted of kidnapping and murdering two people in 2017 were indicted this week for allegedly working with him to smuggle drugs into the D.C. Jail.

In an indictment unsealed Monday, federal prosecutors said the three family members – Teleka Lewis, Michael Lewis and Malique Lewis – conspired to distribute a synthetic cannabinoid and a substance containing a mixture of heroin and fentanyl and to smuggle that substance into the D.C. Jail’s Central Detention Facility (CDF) between May and June 2023.

At the time, 26-year-old Malique Lewis, who goes by the name “Freak,” was being held in custody at CDF while awaiting trial. In court Thursday, a federal prosecutor identified Teleka Lewis as Malique’s mother and Michael Lewis as his brother, according to a person who attended the hearing.

Malique Lewis has been behind bars at the D.C. Jail since 2018, when he was arrested in connection with the December 2017 deaths of Armani Nico Coles and Kerrice Lewis (who has no relation to the defendants). Malique Lewis was convicted by a jury last week on 14 counts, including two counts each of first-degree murder and kidnapping resulting in death.

During his four-week trial alongside co-defendant Marcel Vines, 28, prosecutors said Coles and Kerrice Lewis were abducted to act as bait for the man Malique Lewis and Vines believed had killed their friend Ronzay Green. Green had been shot and killed in a 7-Eleven parking lot earlier that day. When the men failed to draw the suspect out, Malique Lewis and Vines shot Coles multiple times and dumped him out of their car onto the shoulder of I-295 in Maryland. An hour later, the men shot Kerrice Lewis, who was confined in the trunk of her own car, and then set the vehicle on fire.

Both Lewis and Vines face mandatory consecutive life sentences. As of Thursday, the judge overseeing their case had not yet set a sentencing date. D.C. A third co-defendant, Ashton Briscoe, is still awaiting trial.

Teleka and Michael Lewis were arrested Monday and Tuesday, respectively, and released on personal recognizance bonds with orders not to contact their co-defendants outside the presence of counsel. Malique Lewis was arrested Thursday at the D.C. Jail and returned to custody following his initial appearance before a magistrate judge.

All three defendants face one count each of conspiracy to distribute, possession with intent to distribute and providing contraband in prison. All three are felonies, with the most serious – providing contraband in prison – carrying up to 10 years in prison for a conviction involving a schedule I or II substance. Malique Lewis faces an additional count of possessing contraband in prison as an inmate, which also carries a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison for a schedule I or II substance.

The case was assigned to U.S. District Judge Tanya S. Chutkan. All three defendants were ordered to appear before her for a status conference on Sept. 10.