05/16/17 — Man pleads guilty in murder case

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Man pleads guilty in murder case

By Ethan Smith
Published in News on May 16, 2017 9:57 AM

Jaquan Amahd Dennis, 25, will serve 90 to 120 months in prison after pleading guilty to felony accessory after the fact to first-degree murder in a 2013 murder case.

Dennis was charged alongside Nebraska Raheem Best in the December 2013 slaying of 42-year-old Tony Jermaine Lewis.

Lewis was gunned down in the 700 block of North Virginia Street on Dec. 27, 2013.

Both Best and Dennis were originally charged with an open count of murder for allegedly killing Lewis.

Assistant District Attorney Mike Ricks said when reached by phone this morning that he was limited into how much detail he could divulge about Dennis' plea deal, as Best has yet to stand trial or take a plea deal.

"The co-defendant's case has not been resolved," Ricks said. "There's just really not a whole lot I can say about that because if I do, it might compromise that case with Best, which is still pending."

Ricks said there is no firm date yet for Best's case to go to trial.

Ricks said there was nothing written in the plea deal requiring Dennis to testify against Best, but it was not out of the realm of possibility.

"There is no formal written agreement that he will testify against Nebraska Best," Ricks said. "But it would not be out of the question that he would be called as a witness in that case if it goes to trial."

Dennis will receive credit toward his sentence for the time he has already been incarcerated since he was charged, which is more than 1,200 days.