Kan. man convicted in connection with Carbondale officer-involved shooting in 2016

CARBONDALE, Ill. (KFVS) - A Kansas man has been convicted in connection with an officer-involved shooting in Carbondale in 2016.

Xavier E. Lewis, 31, of Salina, Kan., was convicted by a jury on all charges on November 3. His sentencing will be at a later date.

Lewis was indicted by a Jackson County jury in November 2018 for cannabis trafficking, manufacture and delivery of cannabis, aggravated discharge of a firearm and aggravated battery of a police officer with a firearm.

He was found and arrested on the warrant in Colorado in January 2022. He was then extradited to Illinois.

Because of a conflict, the Jackson County State’s Attorney requested the case by prosecuted by the Illinois Office of the Appellate Prosecutor. It was tried before a Jackson County jury.

Back on July 31, 2016, at around 11:38 p.m., Carbondale police saw a vehicle fleeing after the occupants fired shots toward a group of people in the 700 block of Robert A. Stalls Avenue.

The officers tried to stop the vehicle, but the driver sped away. They chased it north on Marion Street and then east on Dillinger Road. At that time, one of the people in the car fired a rifle at the officers and the shot went through the windshield.

According to police, Officer Trey Harris was hit. His partner ended the chase and took Harris to an area hospital.

Officer Harris was then transferred to a St. Louis hospital for emergency surgery. They say he suffered permanent damage to his vision, which required him to medically retire from law enforcement.

Over the next few years, investigators identified several people as being involved with a cannabis trafficking organization with ties to Kansas, Oregon and southern Illinois.

Christian N. Reichert, 31, of Marion, was indicted in September 2016 on charges of manufacture of cannabis and cannabis trafficking. He was convicted in October 2018 and sentenced to 23 years in the Illinois Department of Corrections.

Alex B. Karcher, 29, of Salina, Kan., was indicted in November 2018 and a warrant was issued for manufacture and delivery of cannabis, aggravated discharge of a firearm and aggravated battery of a police officer with a firearm. He pleaded guilty to the charges in November 2018 and was sentenced to 27 years in the IDOC.

Xavier L. McCray, 29, of Salina, Kan., was indicted in November 2018 for manufacture and delivery of cannabis, aggravated discharge of a firearm and aggravated battery of a police officer with a firearm. He pleaded guilty in July 2021 and was sentenced to 10 years in the IDOC.

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