On Wednesday, the Maryland food delivery man accused of shooting and killing Meghan Riley Lewis outside her apartment days after Christmas in 2023 was found guilty of lesser charges but acquitted of her murder.
Lewis was shot and killed by Brian Delen, 48, in a parking lot outside her apartment on December 27, 2023. After a seven-day trial in Harford County Circuit Court, he was found guilty of second-degree assault and using a gun while committing a violent crime.
However, he was found not guilty of first- or second-degree murder.
Police say Delen told them he was delivering food to another apartment complex resident when he got into a fight with Lewis because he allegedly misgender her, according to charging documents seen by WJZ-TV in January.
“Are you ready for food to be delivered, sir?” Delen is said to have asked Lewis.
After a heated argument, Delen went back to his car and drove off, but charging documents say he stopped and shot Lewis while he was still in the parking lot of the apartment complex.
Delen called 911, gave first aid, and stayed at the scene until the police arrived. He admitted that he shot Lewis, but he said it was for his own safety. Lewis was taken by police to a nearby hospital, but she later died there.
As the trial went on, the prosecutors showed proof that Delen and Lewis did not fight before the shooting.
According to a report from local Fox affiliate WBAL, one witness said, “He just leaned out of his car and shot her.”
Alison Healey, the state attorney for Harford County, said she was disappointed with the verdict but praised the jury for its work.
As you can see, this is not what we wanted to happen, Healey said. “We still stand by what we told the jury about how Meghan Riley Lewis’s death was definitely a first-degree murder.”
Even though we are sad and disappointed with the outcome, we respect the jury’s choice and their part in the democratic process.
Healey said that prosecutors would go for “the maximum sentence allowed by law, which is 30 years, with no chance of parole for five of those years.”
Before his trial, not much was known about Delen, but he had a lot of posts on social media about guns, including one where he talked about using his Glock as a way to deal with his feelings.
Friends of Lewis said she “was a very open, loving, and sparkly person.” They told WJZ that she helped start a patient support group for trans people who came to the city to find affirming health care.
One friend told the station, “She opened her doors, her heart, everything for LGBT people and was one of the strongest supporters of them.”
