Crime & Safety
Portland Landlord Who Killed Tenant Gets 16 Years After Plea Deal
Gary Lewis was sentenced to 16 years after pleading guilty to manslaughter. He had been charged with murder.
Almost three years after Renee Sandidge was murdered in Northeast Portland, her family saw her killer sentenced. Multnomah County Judge Eric Bergstrom told Gary Lewis he will spend the next 16 years behind bars.
Lewis, who had been charged with murder, pleaded guilty to manslaughter.
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Police had been called in June 2014 by Lewis's wife after their daughter had seen something suspicious. It would later turn out that she had seen him beating Sandidge and dragging her body.
Officers eventually located a surveillance tape that caught Lewis getting rid of the body. They inspected a shed on the property and found Sandidge's body behind a false wall.
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It turned out that both landlord and tenant were suffering from mental issues and had been involved in an ongoing dispute in which he unsuccessfully tried to evict her.
As part of his sentence, Lewis will have to pay for counseling for his daughter.
Photo Multnomah County Sheriff's Office
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