Umeir Hawkins, a CA security guard with a previous assault conviction, has been charged with murder for shooting and killing a 50-year-old customer at a grocery store because he wasn’t wearing a state-mandated face mask. Hawkins’s wife, Sabrina Carter, who was with him at the time of the encounter, has also been charged with possession of a handgun by a felon.
Fox News reports – The incident occurred at the Gardena market in South California on Sunday, when the customer, Jerry Lewis, reportedly entered the store without a mask and got into an argument with the guard, Umeir Hawkins.
Masks are mandated in the state of California; a rule put into effect by Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom in mid-June as the state saw a resurgence in coronavirus cases amid phased reopenings of businesses.
Daily Mail – Authorities said Wednesday Jerry Lewis had entered the market while he was waiting for a tow truck for his vehicle, which had two flat tires.
Hawkins allegedly told Lewis he needed to wear a face mask and an argument broke out between the two men.
Lewis left the store but returned soon after and he and Hawkins fought again, police said.
At this point, Carter allegedly pulled out a handgun to defend her husband, pointing it at Lewis and other customers inside the market.
Authorities said this broke up the fight and Lewis began walking away from Hawkins in the direction of his vehicle.
But Hawkins followed him and, once outside the store, he allegedly pulled his own gun and shot Lewis as the victim was walking away.
Hawkins was arrested Monday and charged by the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office with murder and possession of a firearm by a felon.
Hawkins and his wife Sabrina Carter were each charged with one count of possession of a handgun by a felon, stemming from a prior conviction in 2013 for assault by means of force likely to produce great bodily injury, according to a press release by the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office.
California’s Governor Newsome isn’t the only Democrat governor whose controversial order mandating that citizens wear face masks is creating deadly conflicts. In late April, Michigan Democrat Governor Gretchen Whitmer mandated that all citizens wear face coverings when entering an enclosed public space.
On May 1, 2020, a 43-year-old father of nine and Family Dollar Store security guard Calvin James Munerlyn, lost his life trying to uphold Michigan Governor Whitmer’s controversial face-covering executive order.
Calvin Munerlyn is being praised by community members who remember him for all the ways he gave back to others. At the Madison Academy, where Munerlyn was honored as “Parent of the Year” just days before the shooting, his death is especially felt.
According to NewsOne, Calvin James Munerlyn, a 43-year-old married father of nine, was working at a Family Dollar in Flint, Michigan, on Friday. During his shift, he asked a female customer to cover her face with a mask while inside the store. Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer’s Executive Order says that “everyone must wear a mask in all enclosed public spaces to halt the spread of COVID-19.”
Madison Academy Principal Christel Drew told WJRT: “We have four of their children here, two of their other children graduated from Madison Academy, so the Munerlyns are our family,”
Drew said Munlerlyn, who was also known throughout the school as “Duper,” often served the school and its students however he could.
