BAKERSFIELD, Calif. (KGET) — Over four months after a federal jury awarded $30.5 million to the family of a man shot and killed by a Kern County Sheriff’s deputy in Mojave, the county is looking to appeal the decision — but will have to secure a $17 million bond to do so.
On Oct. 3, 2020, 39-year-old Mickel Erich Lewis Sr. was driving home with his girlfriend and her two teenage daughters with ice cream sundaes from the Mojave Wienerschnitzel. At some point, Deputy Jason Ayala stopped them for a vehicle code violation.
In the end, Lewis was shot five times, twice in the back.
Federal jury decides against Kern County, awarding $30.5 million to Mojave family
In November that same year, the Kern County Sheriff’s Office review board ruled Ayala acted within the department’s policy,…