A Lakeland man was sentenced to 30 years in prison after authorities linked him to the handgun used in a Christmas Eve 2020 shooting that killed a 70-year-old grandmother and injured three other family members.
The State Attorney’s Office said that Taqiy Lewis, 29, was sentenced after pleading guilty in March to possessing a pistol and ammunition as a convicted felon in connection with a shooting.
Lakeland firearm sentencing
According to court papers, the incident occurred around 5:30 p.m. on December 24, 2020, outside a Lakeland home.
Prosecutors allege Lewis and others engaged in a gunfight outside the home, where Maebelle Cooper, 70, was spending Christmas Eve with family, including small children.
Cooper was struck twice and died by gunshots.
Three other individuals were injured, including Cooper’s daughter, Shawanda Lamones, her husband, and the couple’s 13-year-old daughter.
Forensic breakthrough
According to investigators, the breakthrough occurred more than two years later.
On February 9, 2023, agents from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF) and Lakeland Police Department officers found a firearm while serving a search warrant for an unrelated drive-by shooting that injured 11 people.
According to prosecutors, forensic tests using the National Integrated Ballistic Information Network (NIBIN) revealed that the handgun was the identical one used in the Christmas Eve massacre.
According to investigators, the six shell casings collected from the crime scene, two bullets retrieved from the residence, and the projectile recovered from Cooper’s body were all shot from Lewis’ weapon.
Lewis was already a convicted criminal at the time of the shooting, according to authorities, therefore he was not legally permitted to possess a firearm.
Federal prosecutors also said evidence revealed Lewis attempted to conceal his role after the shooting by fabricating an alibi and having the jacket and sandals he wore during the shooting burnt in a barrel.
Christmas Eve shootout tragedy
Investigators believe the Christmas Eve shooting was the result of an earlier argument at Simpson Park.
Authorities earlier stated that Shawanda Lamones’ teenage son was robbed at gunpoint while visiting the park to purchase an iPhone. Following a confrontation, the family returned home.
A short time later, authorities reported that many vehicles came at the family’s home, and shooting erupted outside.
Cooper, who had just arrived to spend Christmas Eve with her family and decorate gingerbread houses, was killed. Three relatives survived their injuries.
In 2025, federal officials charged Lewis with being a convicted felon in possession of the pistol used in the shooting.
Homicide investigation
Although Lewis has been sentenced to 30 years in federal prison for the guns conviction, prosecutors say he is still being investigated by state police for Cooper’s killing.
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