Man gets additional sentence in undercover drug buy

A man already sentenced to serve 15 years in federal prison was sentenced Wednesday to 5 ½ years in state prison for the same incident.

Julius Garland Lewis, 22, was sentenced in connection with an undercover drug buy that resulted in attempted first-degree murder charges. Lewis is the first of five suspects charged in the case in which a confidential informant jumped through a plate-glass window to escape.

Lewis’ brother, 21-year-old Titus Joe Lewis, is expected to enter a plea agreement that could get him 7 1/2 years in state prison. Like his brother, Titus Lewis has already pleaded guilty to federal charges, and he was sentenced last month to serve about 12 years in federal prison.

In both cases, the state and federal sentences will run together, Spokane County Deputy Prosecutor Mark Cipolla said.

Also charged in the case are Randy “Yokey” Fletcher, 43; Eric Anderson, 33; and Nicole Marie Brown, 30. All three suspects are scheduled for trial in Spokane County Superior Court.

A conviction for Fletcher would lead to life in prison without the possibility for parole because it would be his third strike, Cipolla said.

The incident began on March 21 when the federal Drug Enforcement Administration informant, who was wearing a recording device, went to purchase $4,000 worth of drugs at 3226 E. Fourth Ave.

Once inside, the suspects threatened to kill the informant with a gun, according to court records.

Federal agents were monitoring the situation outside and rushed into the house. At the same time, the informant escaped by jumping through the window. The informant later recovered from cuts that required more than 160 stitches, Cipolla said.

In court Wednesday, Julius Lewis apologized to Superior Court Judge Ellen Kalama Clark.

“It was stupid,” Lewis said of his actions. “I got caught up in the fast lane, fast money.”