Pastor consoles deputies after correctional officer dies in shooting

PERRYVILLE, Ark. (KARK/KAIT) – Following the death of a Perry County correctional officer, a pastor came together with deputies to help them deal with the sudden passing.

On the evening of Wednesday, June 22, Roderick Deshawn Lewis was being booked into the Perry County Jail when he was alleged to have shot 21-year-old detention officer Jeremiah Story.

According to a news release from Arkansas State Police, Story was shot in the bathroom inside the jail where Lewis was changing into jail-issued attire. Story later died at a hospital.

Just two hours after the shooting, a local pastor, Allen Nelson, was called in to come minister to the deputies.

He told content partner KARK that when he arrived at the jail, deputies were in shock and heartbroken.

“Even a few inmates were pretty upset, shocked. I mean it just rocked the whole area,” Nelson said. “This is just not something that happens in Perryville, Arkansas.”

Even with Lewis behind bars, those in the community are still trying to process the incident.

“It’s just real sad to see a man’s life, so young, taken in that way, when he was just trying to do his job,” Nelson said. “This is a tough day and we rightly ought to be hurting with those, especially the family of this young man.”

Lewis is currently being held at the Faulkner County Jail and a capital murder charge has been filed against him.

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