A Silverstreet, S.C., man was found guilty Wednesday in the 2023 shooting death of Augusta homeless man Barry Lew.
A Richmond County jury found Richard Kareem Moore, 42, guilty of three counts of felony murder, possession of a firearm during the commission of a felony and possession of a firearm by a convicted felon, according to a news release from Augusta Circuit District Attorney Jared Williams.
According to prior reports, Lew, 62, was killed behind a motel off Claussen Road Jan. 8, 2023. Moore and co-defendant Demorea Wallace were initially charged with murder and kidnapping in Lew’s death.
Police said the father of four attempted to get inside their motel room, so the pair dragged him behind the motel and pistol-whipped him, then Moore shot him, according to the reports.
Lew “didn’t deserve to die that way,” said Assistant District Attorney Randi Guillory of the DA’s Office Special Victims Unit, who led the prosecution at trial.
Wallace, who was 22 at the time of the incident, pleaded guilty to aggravated assault and was sentenced to two years in prison, the release said.
Richmond County Senior Superior Court Judge Daniel J. Craig sentenced Moore to life in prison without the possibility of parole plus 15 years for the firearms charges.
