Oklahoma City Man who Shot Police Officer Responding to Domestic Call Sentenced to Federal Prison

OKLAHOMA CITY –JOEL KEENAN LEWIS, 67, of Oklahoma City, has been sentenced to serve the statutory maximum, 120 months, in prison for being a drug user in possession of a firearm, with credit for time served in state custody, announced U.S. Attorney Robert J. Troester.

According to public record, on January 23, 2021, an officer with the Oklahoma City Police Department responded to Lewis’s home on a domestic call. Moments after the officer arrived, Lewis exited the home, pointed a pistol directly at the officer’s chest, and fired it at point-blank range at the officer. The officer was hit in both the chest and hand. The officer sustained minor injuries, in large part due to the safety armor beneath his uniform.

On August 1, 2023, a federal grand jury charged Lewis—who had a long history of marijuana use—with being a drug user in possession of a firearm. On October 23, 2023, Lewis pleaded guilty and admitted to using marijuana in January of 2021, despite not having a medical marijuana card, and to possessing firearms during this same time.

At the sentencing hearing on July 8, 2024, U.S. District Judge Stephen P. Friot sentenced Lewis to serve the statutory maximum, 120 months, in confinement, with credit for time served in a related conviction for shooting with intent to kill in Oklahoma County District Court case CF-2021-401. Judge Friot also ordered Lewis to serve three years of supervised release upon his release from federal prison. In announcing the sentence, Judge Friot noted the dangerous combination of chronic drug abuse and firearms and the risk that combination poses to the community.

This case is the result of an investigation by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives and the Oklahoma City Police Department. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Jacquelyn M. Hutzell and David McCrary prosecuted the case.

Reference is made to public filings for additional information.