Man guilty of first degree murder gets three life terms and 290 years

MARION, Ark. – A man was found guilty late Wednesday of murder and sentenced to life in prison for a 2021 murder in Crittenden County.

Sir Jeffery McNeil-Lewis, 28, was found guilty late Wednesday of first-degree murder, first-degree battery, and eight counts of a terroristic act. Circuit Judge Randy Philhours followed the jury’s recommended sentence, handing down three life terms and 290 years’ imprisonment as the sentence.

The trial lasted for three days.

Around noon on January 22, 2021, West Memphis police responded to a shots-fired report at the residential intersection of McCauley and Twist. Officers found Jarvis Moore, 34, on the ground with a gunshot wound to the back of his head. Police also found Moore’s brother – Stacy Orlando Abram – at a nearby service station with fresh gunshot wounds. Abram survived but Moore died at an area hospital. McNeil-Lewis and another man were quickly identified as the shooters and arrested the same day. Tests detected gunshot residue on McNeil-Lewis’s hand. Police seized a firearm from the house where they found McNeil-Lewis and the other man, and testing linked the gun to the fatal bullet retrieved from Moore’s head.

Michael D. Snell, deputy prosecuting attorney, and Keith L. Chrestman, state prosecuting attorney, prosecuted the case for the state.

In a press release, Snell thanked the jury for their service. He also praised the West Memphis Police Department for their investigation. Chrestman praised Snell’s work as well.

“Snell, as the county supervising prosecuting attorney, has and is making a real difference. This case is just one example. I’m thankful for his willingness to serve. This was a senseless murder in a residential neighborhood and broad daylight. And the jury’s message is crystal clear – Crittenden County citizens demand safe neighborhoods and will not tolerate gun violence.”