Indictment: Teens who opened fire on Bibb cops in June sought ‘status’ as Crips gangsters
A pair of Macon teenagers who in mid-June allegedly opened fire on two Bibb County sheriff’s deputies who were trying to pull the pair over did so, at least in part, to further their status in the Hoover Crips street gang, local prosecutors contend.
The teens, Xzaydrian Ja’Won Lewis, 18, and Skylar Luke Hill, 16, were formally charged last week in a 15-count indictment, accusing them of multiple street-gang crimes and of shooting at the police, aggravated assault on a peace officer.
The incident unfolded the afternoon of June 13 near a traffic roundabout at the intersection of Georgia Highway 74 and Lamar Road in western Bibb.
Officials have said the teens fled after the shooting but were apprehended less than two hours later on the east side of the nearby Lake Wildwood subdivision.
The deputies, Hermann Beltran and Nicholas Denny, members of the sheriff’s gang-policing unit, were not struck by any of the numerous bullets that hit their car.
Sheriff David Davis said at that time that “at least” 10 bullet holes riddled the unmarked Dodge Charger the deputies were riding in.
The deputies had been about to stop the car the teens were in, also a Dodge Charger, because the teens were thought to be suspects in another crime, the sheriff has said.
The indictment alleges that the teens tried to elude the deputies and were traveling “in excess of 20 miles an hour about the posted speed limit ... after having been given audible and visual signals” to stop.
Language in last Tuesday’s indictment said the teens, “associated with Hoover Crips,” committed numerous violations of Georgia’s Street Gang Terrorism and Prevention Act, which is among the strongest such statutes in the country. Prosecutors contend that Hill and Lewis were “acting together” to “obtain, maintain or increase (their) status or position” in their gang.
The indictment, however, does not mention any specifics on what led officials to believe that.
Information from Telegraph archives was used in this report.
This story was originally published August 30, 2022 at 11:39 AM.