Jacksonville man sentenced to life in prison for murder of LGBTQ community

by Junna Base November 8, 2024

It’s been six years since a series of murders sparked fear and uproar in Jacksonville’s gay and transgender community and the sheriff’s office launched its LGBT liaison team. Now one of the murderers has been sentenced to life imprisonment.

Although sexual orientation was not listed as a factor in Omar Antonio Lewis’ arrest report, it shocked the community as the fourth murder of its kind. Lewis and Jessie Sumlar IV knew each other, but their relationship was also not listed in the report.

Sumlar, a 30-year-old hairdresser who regularly performed in the drag scene and identified as queer, was found stabbed to death in July 2018 at his home at the Waters Edge Apartments on Broward Road. According to prosecutors, autopsy results showed he had been stabbed 18 times and his throat had been slit.

Lewis, 32, pleaded guilty to a reduced charge of second-degree murder on Oct. 17 and was sentenced Wednesday, according to court records. A possible death penalty was waived, giving Judge R. Anthony Salem a sentence of 36 years to life in sentencing Lewis. His other charges of grand larceny, unlawful possession of a stolen credit card and fraudulent use of a credit card were dropped.

Sumlar’s car and wallet were stolen at the scene. The Chevrolet Impala was found burned the next day near Lewis’ home. Investigators also tracked activity on his credit card and determined that it had been used fraudulently several times at the time. The sheriff’s office released surveillance camera images of the suspect using the credit card, which led to some tips, the Times-Union previously reported.

DNA matches also linked the crime scene to Lewis, prosecutors said. He was arrested on August 2nd.

Sumlar’s mother issued a statement that read in part: “When the terrible, senseless act of taking our loved one away from us was carried out, it left a broken people throughout the city and beyond.”

“Jessie was loving, considerate and helpful to his siblings, parents, our 11 grandchildren and entire family, as well as friends and even casual acquaintances. When he talked to you or even just gave you that big, welcoming smile, it was as if “He was your best friend and confidant because he had an aura about him that showed itself even in people he happened to meet , because he was always there, offering to volunteer and help in any way he could,” she said. “…when he entered a room or other space where people gathered, they immediately acknowledged him, smiled and greeted him, for he had what some would call ‘IT’, as if he were a star or Top athlete and would know.” He should love him.

“I wasn’t asking God for closure, because it’s like a wound that’s covered on the outside but still has scars underneath, but rather to help everyone heal because this has now become a part of all of us “, concluded his mother.

Other people killed in Jacksonville this year included 36-year-old Celine Walker in a Southside motel on February 4; 38-year-old Antash’a English in a June 1 shooting on a Northside Street; and 24-year-old Cathalina James in a June 24 shooting at another Southside motel.

Her deaths within months sparked a fight for equal rights in Jacksonville’s lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community, as well as concerns that these women of color were being targeted.

Sean Bernard Phoenix, now 27, was arrested in Walker’s death in 2019. The following year, he pleaded guilty to second-degree murder and is serving a 35-year sentence, according to court records. No arrests were reported in the other two cases.

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