PITTSBURGH — Even outside Rick Lewis’ home, you get a sense of what he is going through inside. A large sign, pierced in the ground next to the porch steps, shows a photo of Rick’s only son Jason Lewis and the message “Never Forgotten, God’s Justice Will Prevail.”
“Silence hurts,” Rick Lewis said. “Time has flown. Yet time has stopped.”
Sunday marked five years since Jason was murdered and as much time without an arrest.
Jason was the outgoing class comedian turned successful business owner. In February 2022, he stopped by an after-hours club in Braddock.
His friend had words with a woman inside the club. It continued outside with the woman’s son, and Jason got involved in the argument. Without a single punch thrown, shots were fired and Jason was hit multiple times. He died at the hospital.
Many people witnessed the shooting and told police as much, saying they know who the shooter is. But none will agree to testify in court.
“My prayer is that God will turn a light on, that God will shine a light on this situation,” Rick Lewis said. “If it was not for God, I’d be a puddle on the floor... But God strengthens me every day.”
There are dozens of unsolved homicide cases in and around Pittsburgh.
11 Investigates requested data and records from Pennsylvania State Police, Allegheny County Police and Pittsburgh Police. The agencies investigate the majority of homicide cases in Allegheny County.
Pennsylvania State Police tells 11 Investigates the Pittsburgh barracks investigated four homicides in 2024. So far, they have not solved any of them.
Allegheny County Police investigated 64 homicides and solved 81 percent.
City of Pittsburgh Bureau of Police investigated 42 homicides in 2024. Investigators solved 54.8 percent of those cases, according to department records.
11 Investigates’ Jatara McGee asked Acting Police Chief Chris Ragland if he is concerned by the number of cases the department is not solving.
“Oh absolutely. I would love to have that number be 100 percent,” Ragland said. “I think there’s a number of factors of why we have homicides that have not been solved. It’s the available evidence, it’s having people come forward as witnesses, and it’s also about -- we’re not the only entity in the equation. It’s a partnership between us and the DA’s office, and we have to work together to make sure the case is as strong as it can be so that the individual that we arrest ends up getting convicted.”
Ragland acknowledges there are several factors that help close homicide cases, including technology and a strong community-police relationship. Experts say when community members trust their local police, they are more likely to come forward.
“Having individual officers geographically assigned, in those neighborhoods every day, building those partnerships, building those community partnerships is important,” Ragland said. “And so I think it’s certainly a focus for us moving forward, and it’s a focus for me.”
The department has been under scrutiny for its staffing shortage. The number of officers retiring and resigning outpaces the number of new officers joining the force.
The police union tells 11 Investigates five homicide detectives left the unit last year and have not been replaced. According to a department spokeswoman, three retired, one resigned and one was promoted to work in another unit.
Currently, the unit has one lieutenant, two sergeants and 21 homicide detectives. That is ten detectives fewer than just five years ago, the department confirmed.
McGee asked Ragland if homicide detectives who retire with be replaced.
“I think we always have to analyze what the workload is with respect to any unit. And so we’ll kind of take a lot at what each individual detective’s workload is and then make some decisions on how we redistribute that workload.”
FBI data shows Pittsburgh police is solving homicides below the national average of 57.8 percent.
The department solved 54.8 percent in 2024 and an average of 52 percent over the last five years.
Within the region, Pittsburgh police are further underperforming. FBI data for the Mid-Atlantic region shows the average solve rate is 64.3 percent, ten points above Pittsburgh police.
11 Investigates requested the homicide clearance rate from a list of cities in the region to see how Pittsburgh compares.
Cities like Cincinnati, Detroit and Philadelphia all reported homicide clearance rates for 2024 that are higher than Pittsburgh Police’s 54.8 percent rate. All of them are lower than Allegheny County Police’s 81 percent rate.
- Cincinnati: 71%
- Columbus: 75%
- Detroit: 59%
- District of Columbia: 60%
- Indianapolis: 60.7%
- Philadelphia: 71%
11 Investigates also requested data from the Cleveland Police Department due to its proximity to Pittsburgh. A spokesman said the department has a rate of “approximately 80%” for 2024 cases and said they could not release an exact number due to pending medical examiner reports. But the state told 11 Investigates Cleveland police cleared 21.6 percent of its 112 homicides, according to state standards.
Locally, leaders recognize there is room for growth.
Allegheny County Police Assistant Superintendent Vic Joseph acknowledges there is still work to do.
“You can’t take a victory lap,” he said. “The effort’s the same, the empathy is the same, the compassion is the same. You know, sometimes you get the arrest and the clearance and sometimes you don’t, but the effort is what’s consistent.”
County police are still investigating Jason Lewis’ murder. They tell 11 Investigates the investigation remains active and ongoing.
“We continue to ask anyone with information to call 1-833-ALL-TIPS. As our detectives have said in the past, we know there are people out there that know what happened and we need them to come forward,” a department spokesman said.
Families like the Lewises say the wait for justice does not get any easier.
Rick Lewis said he finds peace at his church. He often sits in the sanctuary alone with his thoughts or keeps himself busy doing small projects around the building.
“This is where I run to when I need to talk to God,” he said. “When you love, you never stop loving. So you never stop grieving.”
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