FBI claims to know who killed a federal witness in Lexington. No one's been charged
Four men followed Kristopher Lewis, 28, for days, police say. They wore masks and attacked him in an industrial area off Leestown Road. They split the reward money for the targeted assassination.
All four of the men are identified by name in new court filings.
But no one has been charged in Lewis' killing.
The details are included in new federal court filings in the case of Quincino Waide Jr., accused of unrelated misdemeanor charges of possession of a firearm by a felon and domestic violence.
Prosecutors have argued he is involved with the four suspects who killed Lewis — members of the West End gang Hot Boyz — and should be denied bail in his case as a result.
An initial round of court documents filed last month in Waide's case revealed a portion of police's claims about Lewis' death. Another round, filed July 11, painted a clearer picture of the federal witness's death.
The Herald-Leader is not naming the four men FBI officials say killed Lewis because they have not been charged with a crime.
Hannah Sloan, spokesperson for the Lexington Police Department, said the investigation is ongoing, and she referred questions to federal prosecutors.
The United States' Attorney's Office declined to comment on the case.
Lewis was facing drug charges at the time of his death, and he was cooperating with police, according to court documents.
He was indicted alongside Rollie Lamar in 2022 for conspiracy to distribute marijuana and commit money laundering.
Lamar had more than $2 million in assets, including luxury cars, high-end jewelry and guns, when he was arrested, prosecutors say.
And in 2023, police allege, he used some of those funds to order a hit on Lewis.
Lamar was convicted anyway in a February 2024 trial and sentenced to 18 years in prison, according to online court records.
Men arrived in masks, followed victim for days
At 8:15 a.m. Sept. 29, 2023, Lewis went to work at Koch Air, on Trade Street. When he parked and got out of his vehicle, four men in masks exited a dark colored sedan and shot Lewis before fleeing the scene, police say.
Witnesses told investigators the sedan had been sitting in the parking lot for a 'significant' time before Lewis arrived, according to court documents.
Witnesses didn't think the vehicle was occupied, but then it was turned on just before Lewis arrived for work.
Police used Flock camera technology to locate a black Acura that matched the description of the suspects' vehicle.
That led police to suspect the gang's involvement.
Several key pieces of evidence followed.
Shell casings at the scene of Lewis' killing matched two other shootings where the same Acura was captured by video at the scene.
Police also obtained cellphone records that showed one of the four suspects meeting Lamar in Louisville three days before Lewis was killed. The four suspects began following Lewis after that meeting, police say.
Cellphone data showed one of the suspects in the area of Lewis' work and home for two days before the shooting.
And text messages from the morning of Lewis' killing revealed the suspects were coordinating picking each other up and the location of gloves, according to court documents.
No charges filed in Lewis' death
Despite the detailed narrative of Lewis' death in Waide's unrelated case, none of the four men mentioned by name have been charged.
In the Lexington Police Department's homicide investigation database, the suspect field for Lewis' case is blank.
Police also say in court documents that Waide drove the getaway car after Lewis' killing — though he hasn't been charged in the case, either.
Still, federal prosecutors argue he has significant ties to Lexington's Hot Boyz gang, who they say left a trail of bodies in their wake in recent years.
That connection, police say, is enough to keep Waide in custody despite his relatively minor charges.
Waide's attorney filed a motion to revoke the judge's detention order. A hearing is scheduled for July 30 in Frankfort.
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