Second suspect arrested in April IHOP shooting death of 2-year-old

A second suspect, who was allegedly the getaway driver, has been arrested for the April 2024 shooting death of a 2-year-old in the Federal Way IHOP parking lot.

On Dec. 18, Jerome Lewis, 31, was arrested and charged with murder in the first degree and two counts of attempted murder in the first degree for his role in the April 4 shooting, which left a 2-year-old dead in the parking lot of the Federal Way IHOP, 178 SW Campus Drive.

Charging documents allege that Lewis had alerted his co-defendant, Jayson Jack, 17, that the father of the child who was killed was at the restaurant, and subsequently met Jack at his apartment. The charges allege that Lewis and Jack then took a stolen Hyundai to IHOP, originally driven by Jack, but when they arrived, Jack exited, while Lewis took the wheel and Jack eventually shot at the father, injuring the father and one of his sons, and killing his other son.

According to court documents, detectives traveled to California to obtain DNA samples from Lewis. The documents state that the DNA showed very strong support as being a match to DNA found on the steering wheel and gear shifter of the Hyundai used during the shooting.

According to the Federal Way Police Department, detectives worked with a law enforcement partner in Alameda, California, to locate Lewis. On Dec. 18, at about 9 a.m., FWPD detectives and the Alameda Police Department took Lewis into custody in conjunction with an arrest warrant for murder in the first degree.

FWPD reports that bail was set at $3 million, and Lewis will be jailed in California pending extradition to Washington.

Details of the incident according to charging documents

According to court documents, the father of the victim told officers that he was waiting at IHOP to pick up his wife when a light-colored car pulled up in front of his vehicle, and then suddenly, a figure began shooting into his windshield. The father said that he attempted to push his children downward as he dropped to the floor. The father said he exited his vehicle and began firing his handgun as the shooter’s vehicle fled the scene.

According to documents, surveillance footage from the IHOP showed that the light-colored car, a Hyundai, arrived at the scene at about 9:40 a.m. and drove past the father’s vehicle. The driver, who was Jack, then parked and exited the vehicle, and then Lewis parked the vehicle at the adjacent Starbucks.

The shooter would walk back and forth between the IHOP parking lot and the Hyundai , at one point entering the IHOP before quickly leaving. The Hyundai would also drive back and forth between the Starbucks and the IHOP parking lot.

At 9:57 p.m., the Hyundai then drove to the father’s vehicle and parked in front of it before Jack exited the passenger seat and fired multiple times at the father in his vehicle before he re-entered the Hyundai and fled the scene. Several hours later, officers would locate the Hyundai, which had bullets lodged into it. Around that same time, the vehicle’s owner reported that it had been stolen.

After interviewing multiple family members, officers found that the father of the victim had recently gotten into an altercation with Lewis, in which the father assaulted Lewis, according to documents. After reviewing footage showing the shooter, the father’s wife said that the shooter was not Lewis, but he did appear to be her cousin, Jack.

Officers searched Jack’s home on June 26, and in his room, they found a face mask that was a match or similar to the one worn by the shooter, a sweatshirt that was a match or similar to the one worn by the shooter, and a pair of grey gloves similar to the ones worn by the shooter in the IHOP surveillance video. Officers also located .45 bullet cartridges in his room that had been stamped by the same machine as the ones found at the scene of the shooting, according to documents.