MAN FROM CASAMERO LAKE, N.M., CHARGED WITH ASSAULT CAUSING SERIOUS BODILY INJURY TO CHILD IN INDIAN COUNTRY SERIOUS BODILY INJURY TO CHILD IN INDIAN COUNTRY

ALBUQUERQUE – Kevin Ernest Lewis, 31, of Casamero Lake, N.M., appeared in federal court in Albuquerque today on charges of assault and child abuse resulting serious bodily injury to his daughter in Indian Country.

According to a criminal complaint, Lewis committed the offenses on May 28, 2019.  He allegedly got into a fight with his girlfriend while driving back from a casino.  Lewis beat his girlfriend with his fists and choked her.  When he later got out of the car, she moved into the driver’s seat and drove home without him.

Lewis went to his girlfriend’s house where her mother tried to stop him from coming inside.  Lewis responded by punching her mother and knocking her to the ground.  Lewis then attacked his girlfriend again while she was holding their 4-month-old daughter in her arms.  Lewis pulled his girlfriend outside of the house and knocked her to the ground causing their daughter to hit her head on concrete.  Lewis kicked the child repeatedly as his girlfriend tried to shield her with his body.  The child suffered a fractured skull and cerebral hemorrhage. 

Lewis is currently in custody.  He faces up to 10 years in prison if convicted of assault resulting in serious bodily injury and 18 years in prison if convicted of child abuse.  A criminal complaint is only an accusation.  A defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt at trial.

The Navajo Nation Department of Criminal Investigations investigated this case.  Assistant U.S. Attorney Michael D. Murphy is prosecuting the case.