Teen Found Guilty Of Killing Englewood Chef In 2016

CENTENNIAL, CO -- An Arapahoe County jury found an Englewood teenager guilty of killing a Denver chef in 2016. Raheem Benson, 18, was convicted Thursday of first-degree murder, second-degree murder and attempted aggravated robbery in the 2016 death of Nicholas Lewis, who was 33, the 18th Judicial district Attorneys Office said.

A co-defendent, Louis Lara-Macias, 17, was sentenced in December by Arapahoe District Judge Andrew Baum as part of a plea agreement,to seven years in the Department of Corrections’ youth offender system.

Benson was tried as an adult. When he is sentenced he faces life in prison in the Department of Corrections with the possibility of parole after 40 years, the DA's office said.

Lewis was a chef at Blackbird Public House in Denver. He had been walking home from a convenience store Oct. 1, 2016, when he was targeted at random.

Englewood Police officers responding to reports of shots fired found Lewis lying on his back in the sidewalk in the 3000 block of South Acoma Street. Lewis had been shot three times and died from a wound to his heart.

Security cameras captured a stolen vehicle leaving the scene, and after it was recovered by Westminster police in Oct., 2016, teenagers Benson and Louis Lara-Macias were arrested in that case.

“We appreciate the fine and swift investigative work of the Englewood Police Department in halting this tragic crime spree,” said Chief Deputy District Attorney Rebecca Gleason, who prosecuted the case in a statement. “Their work not only led to justice but also made the community safer.”

“This defendant took one life and forever altered others by committing a violent and senseless murder,” said Senior Deputy District Attorney Brittany Martin, who prosecuted the case with Gleason. “We hope this verdict will bring some peace to the Lewis family, who lost a son, brother, father and friend.”

Benson's sentencing hearing is scheduled for June 15, the DA's office said.

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