Murder in Texas: Love, Sex and Betrayal. The Shelia Dillard-Jennifer Lewis Story….And the $300 Hitman!
By Clarence Walker
truecrimewriter83@gmail.com
Tuesday evening, March 23rd, 1993, 27-year-old Jennifer Lewis and Cheryl Allen, both nursing students headed to class at Houston Community College of Health Career Professionals, a highly respected medical training center in Houston Texas. This academic facility was located in the 3100 block of Shenandoh street, an area of Third Ward near North Macgregor and interstate freeway 288. Cheryl later graduated.
Jennifer Lewis was brutally murdered 20 years ago by a hit man.
But Jennifer Lewis never achieved the academic goal she anxiously desired because a lone gunman shot her down in cold blood in that evening as witnesses watched. On this dreadul evening 20-years ago Cheryl parked her vehicle in the school’s parking lot then joined Jennifer as they leisurely strolled towards the entrance building. Other students mingled on the campus awaiting for a chauffered rides to their destination.
As Cheryl and Jennifer crossed the street towards the entrance a female student identified as Jessica Anderson later recalled a frightening episode while waiting for a relative to pick her up.
“I got out of school around 5:10 p.m.- I noticed two ladies walking out of the parking lot into the street when this black guy came up behind them. Then I heard a shot!”
“I saw the smoke from the gun and the ladies began running and the man ran eastbound with a big black gun in his “right” hand.”
The gunshot stunned everyone into panic. So when the victim collapsed on the ground, her friend Cheryl screamed, “Jennifer, Jennifer!” “Call an ambulance, she hollered, my friend been shot!” Students and curious onlookers rushed to the wounded woman.
Gasping for breath, the precious life of Jennifer Lewis hung in the balance. The scene was chaotic, pierced with the sound of wailing sirens from Houston Police patrol cars and emergency medical vehicles.
Medical personnel quickly loaded the victim into an ambulance. At high speed with its siren blaring and overhead lights blinking the ambulance raced down 288 freeway towards Ben Taub hospital.
Ben Taub hospital is an elite historic hospital renowned for its superior trauma center. HPD patrol cars flooded the area, blocking off mainline intersections that allowed officers to check out “Red cars” fitting the description.Doctors worked feverishly to save Jennifer but she died from a gunshot wound that entered her back and exited her chest area. Jennifer’s death was a sad day for relatives and friends who showed up at the hospital in droves.
“Lord my child is gone,” one of her parents sobbed. Back at the scene a full-scale homicide investigation got underway. Houston Police Sergeant-Homicide Detective Reuben Anderson and John Burmester conducted the preliminary canvass.
A TV news crew showed up and aired a live report. For its late evening news. HPD officer C.A. Payne monitored the scene to preserve physical evidence.(Crime Scene Unit) officer J.L. Kay arrived at 1800 hours to to work his expertise. First, Kay photographed and videod the scene where the victim collapsed in the street. Kay circled the perimeter numerous times searching for shell casings but none were found. A Nokia cell phone, an earring, and a plastic lunch container were retrieved as evidence. These items belonged to the victim.
Witnesses were shocked into fear that a brazen criminal would shoot a woman on school campus in broad daylight.
Detective Anderson and Burmester interviewed witnesses who saw the shooting. “Tell me the best you remember what you saw and how the shooter looked,” Anderson asked a young lady.
“The man I saw do the shooting was a black man, early 20′s, 5″9, very thin, dark complexion, wearing a dark-colored baseball cap, black jeans and tennis shoes.”
Witnesses description of the wanted killer varied. Yet they all agreed that the suspect was a young black man with a thin build and wearing a cap. Two other witnesses told detectives they saw the suspect jump into a Red compact-type car and that another person was driving. One witness remembered the car as a 1991 or 1992 Red Pontiac Sundance with no license tags. Detective Anderson met with the deceased parents and siblings including a current boyfriend identified as Melvin Leon Reed. Reed was employed as a U.S. Postal worker and served as associated pastor at a prominent baptist church in Southeast Houston. Happily engaged to marry, Reed and Jennifer attended church together. They were deeply in love.Anderson offered condolences to the grieving relatives but as a homicide detective he had to cast emotions aside to hunt down a killer.
Anderson discovered from relatives that Jennifer Lewis had no enemies, that she didn’t engage in malicious habits and attended church frequently. Also she worked in the medical field and took nursing courses to advance her profession. How could their child’s life be tragically taken so soon from their life, the victim’s parents wondered. No one who knew Jennifer well could figure why someone wanted her dead. She was a pretty, friendly, classy, young Christian woman, in love with an aspiring pastor.
Cheryl Allen was a bright young lady who adored Jennifer Lewis. They often rode to nursing college in Chery’s vehicle. She gave Anderson a lengthy statement of the tragic events. “This afternoon I called Jennifer from work and she asked if I would take her boyfriend Melvin home before we went to school.” “After I got off work at V.A. Hospital at 4:30 P.M.—I drove over to Jennifer’s house on Daphne street and picked her and Melvin at 4:45; then I dropped Melvin off home near the Astrodome.
“After dropping off Melvin, me and Jennifer continued to school.” As they walked towards the front entrance to enter the building, Cheryl told detectives she thought she heard a car backfire. “When I told Jennifer this,” she said, ‘I been shot.’ ”
“I saw a wound in Jennifer’s chest near her sternum. And while examining the wound I looked out the corner of my eye and saw a man running eastbound.” “We began running but Jennifer collapsed. Chery described the shooter as having a medium afro, between 17 and 45, wearing a dirty blue t-shirt and blue jeans. I didn’t get a good look at his face.”
Follow-up Investigation
Sergeant Anderson along with Detective Clarence “C B” Douglas exhaustively worked the case, over the course of days that turned into months, then over into the next year of 1994. They chased down leads no matter how insignificant leaving no stones unturned. Anderson and Douglas had worked well together after Roy Ferguson, Anderson’s former long-time partner transferred to recruiting division.
Houston Police Homicide Sgt Reuben Anderson was the lead detective on the Jennifer Lewis murder case.
A lifelong resident of Houston’s Sunnyside, Reuben Anderson, upon returning from Vietnam, joined Houston Police Department as a rookie patrolman in 1970. Less than a year on patrol the young energetic Anderson transferred to narcotic division where he worked alongside legendary narcotic officer E.J. Stringfellow including Billy Williams, Bennie Alcorn, Joe Landrum, Robert Brady, Roy Furguson, including other notable officers dedicated to sending dope dealers to prison who made a living off human misery by distributing deadly drugs throughout Houston area.
Detective Clarence Douglas also served in the Vietnam War. He left the military in 1971 and joined Philadephia Police Department in 1972. Leaving Philly P.D. Douglas joined Houston Police Department in 1982. He transferred to homicide in 1992 from the Hiram Clark Station. Musically gifted, Douglas played guitar for the popular 1970′s Philadephia singing group, “The Stylistics”. Douglas also has a son who is a highly regarded movie producer and screenwriter. The thrill of police work was like no other adrenalin rush. Unlike Douglas, Anderson exuded a tough veneer, the perfect image of a hard-nose cop who impressed upon suspects it was best to get their business straight. Douglas came across as a more caring, understanding kind of guy. But he was no pushover. He knew how to get tough.
Det Clarence Douglas
Douglas wanted a feel for the scene so both officers returned to Shenandoah street where the crime took place. “How could a woman be shot to death with people packed around the campus during daylight?” Douglas surmised to Anderson. “Whoever did it wanted her dead because the person could have shot the girl that Jennifer was walking with,” Anderson theorized. “But the shooter only shot Jennifer.” “No doubt Jennifer was the target,” Douglas agreed. Autopsy report confirmed obvious results: Jennifer Lewis died as result of a gunshot wound, the entry wound possibly made with a .38 caliber type.
Who Murdered Jennifer Lewis?
Melvin Leon Reed recalled to detectives how Shelia Dillard, an ex-girlfriend, excessively stalked him, burglarizing his apartment and stole his .380 pistol. Further Reed explained, that Shelia, in a fit of rage, stole a beautiful photo of Jennifer that sat on a stereo in Reed’s house. “Shelia wanted us to get back together after I got with Jennifer but I didn’t want too. I loved Jennifer and wanted to make a life with her.” Reed further said he had a son by Shelia named “Little Melvin” and that he often had contact with Shelia through his son.
“After Shelia met Jennifer at my place she called me repeatedly wanting us to get back together. But I wasn’t interested.” Reed’s statement confirmed the sequence of events initially provided by relatives and witnesses who came in contact with Jennifer that tragic day on March 23rd.
Reed said he left work around 11:30 a.m.–and had a friend to drop him off at Jennifer’s house off Scott street. He stayed there with Jennifer reading the bible until Cheryl Allen arrived to pick Jennifer up so they could go to nursing school.On three occasions an unknown person called the Lewis home while Reed was there. Two of the calls came from a man asking for Jennifer and when her parent asked her to come to the phone the caller abruptly hung up. “When I answered one call, the voice made a grunt sound and hung up,” Reed said.
Once Melvin was dropped off he kissed Jennifer goodbye and handed her his cell phone. Later that evening a relative of Jennifer called Melvin by phone informing him of Jennifer getting shot walking to class and that she had died.”Do you think she had anything to do with it?” Anderson asked the man. “I don’t know for sure but she may have.” Reed divulged how Shelia once followed him and Jennifer into a Chinese Restaurant. In Gulfgate Mall. “Then she stole my .380 automatic pistol twice!” Reed got the gun back but not before Shelia pulled a strange stunt. “During one conversation I had with Shelia on the phone I could hear her hitting the phone with an object and she said, “I’m going to kill myself.’ ”
“Then I heard a shot!” “I started calling her name but she didn’t say anything for five minutes until finally she came back on the phone and resumed talking. I went and picked my gun up.” “I really wouldn’t talk to her afterwards. I kept telling Shelia that she was crazy.”
Shelia Dillard was love-smitten and by any means necessary she desperately wanted Melvin Reed back into her life. She called Melvin’s phone so repeatedly until he decided to cool her off by answering.
“What is it that you really want?” Reed said he asked Shelia. . “I want that bitch dead,” Reed recalled her saying. “She started laughing and said,” ‘I didn’t mean it because if Jennifer comes up dead everyone will be looking at me.”
Douglas and Anderson felt Shelia’s words as a future threat.
“What Shelia said when you told her that Jennifer was dead?” Douglas asked in his northern Philly accent. “She said, ‘Oh no.’ “I swear on my brother’s grave, Shelia insisted I didn’t have anything to do with Jennifer’s death.
Reed promised detectives he would contact them if he found out who killed Jennifer.
“I think Shelia is involved somewhere with Jennifer’s death,” Douglas commented to Anderson. “It appear she may know something; she stalked Melvin and Jennifer, and she threaten to commit suicide and even said she wanted the bitch dead,” Anderson responded. “Let’s bring her butt in for questioning and a polygraph,” Anderson suggested
Shelia Dillard Interview
Detectives explained to Shelia that she was a suspect based on certain things she said about Jennifer to her ex-lover Melvin Reed. Shelia denied killing and denied having someone to kill Jennifer.
She admitted to being in love with Reed and that she was badly hurt when she discovered him dating Jennifer. She recalled Police arresting Reed
in her car for traffic warrants and that Jennifer had took the car to Reed’s roomate. Reed later apologized to Shelia for having Jennifer in her car but added that Jennifer had needed
a ride home from church. “On the day Jennifer got killed I was home doing my mother’s and girlfriend hair. And on that day I did not have a car.”
Shelia further admitted to detectives that she had stole Reed’s gun to make him come to her home to get it.
“The reason I took Jennifer’s picture from Melvin’s house and ripped it up because he had had her in my car.”
“After Jennifer got killed, and nine days later, Shelia continued. “Melvin Reed called me over to his house and we made love. We have been seeing each other once or twice during the week after that.
“The last time we made love Melvin wanted us to get in the pool but we didn’t. But I still spent the night.” A polygraph examiner had Shelia to take a lie detector test focused on specific questions: if she murdered Jennifer Lewis or had anyone to do it. “She passed the test,” the examiner told detectives. Anderson, speaking in a tough-tone voice forewarned the female suspect: “If we find out you had something to do with Jennifer’s death you’ll be going to the pen for the rest of your life.”
“I didn’t her,” Mr. Anderson. Detectives tried another tactic to find the Red car seen by witnesses leaving the scene.
Sheila Dillard
Shelia Dillard Spotted in a Red Car
On April 14th homicide detectives contacted Sergeant Tyson in the Major Offenders Division. They explained to Tyson that it was important to find out if Shelia Dillard had connections with anyone driving a Red Pontiac car similar to the one that witnesses saw leaving the murder location in Third Ward. Major Offender officers surveyed the suspect’s apartment located at 7700 West Airport #215.
Surveillance units observed several people walking inside and outside of the targeted apartment until finally they spotted a Red 1990 Pontiac Sunbird registered to an address at 503 Fawnwood street.
Officers saw Shelia in the Red Pontiac with a black male! Shelia exited the vehicle and walked inside the apartment. Officers kept close watch as the man in the Red Pontiac drove three females to a nearby shopping center where they met with another black male in a Red Chevrolet Beretta.
After the Red Pontiac driver dropped the women off, officers followed him to 6600 Dumfries street. Detectives were advised of the new developments involving the Red car that Shelia had been riding in. Anderson and Douglas went to the registered address on Fawnwood to speak with the car owner. They discovered from a neighbor that the family had moved to Missouri City. And that the woman’s son who had lived there did drive a Red car.
Additional investigation showed the car belonged to Broderick Franklin who resembled the wanted suspect. Franklin was tall, well-built, and often wore a cap.
Franklin agreed to take a polygraph to clear himself.
When shown a photo of Shelia Dillard the young man denied knowing her. “She was in your car when you brought her home over on West Airport,” Douglas informed Franklin. “And you dropped off three other women at a shopping center.”
Franklin jogged his memory and responded. “I remember picking up the three girls but I don’t remember picking up Shelia.” He then explained not having the Red car anymore. It burned up in a fire,according to Franklin on May 8th 1993.
A subsequent polygraph test showed Broderick Franklin told the truth on the following questions:
(1) “Was you at Houston Community College on the day of the shooting of Jennifer Lewis?”
(2) “Do you know who shot the woman and have you ever let someone use your Red Sunbird without you being in it?”
(3) “Do you know Shelia Dillard?”
Detectives were back to square one. As big city homicide detectives other murders had to be solved that they worked on. Still they refused to give up. In between working other cases Anderson and Douglas read the offense report searching for any clues they may have missed. Jennifer’s killer would not go unpunished.
A Call From Harris County Jail
On April 5th 1994, Deputy Price from Harris County jail contacted detectives about an inmate with important information about Jennifer Lewis death. Deputy Price briefed detectives of the interesting details that the inmate had privately told him. Detectives rushed to county jail on Franklin street where they met inmate Patrick Rynell Curry. Curry admitted that his girlfriend Lisa Randall, a close friend of Shelia Dillard had told him that Shelia hired a dope fiend to kill the girl walking to class. “On the day I found out about the murder I heard Shelia tell Lisa, “I got her.” “And Lisa said, do you know what you’ve done?”
Curry said he suspected Shelia was talking about the lady who had been dating Melvin Reed, Shelia’s former boyfriend.
“The next day I saw Melvin on TV talking about his girlfriend who was shot in the back as she walked to class with another girl.” Curry also remembered Shelia telling him and his girlfriend that she passed a polygraph test at the police department by sipping beer and taking a Xanax pill to calm her nerves. This witness swore he was telling the truth.
Leaving county jail the detectives were excited; the adrenalin in their veins pumping faster than a Texas oil well. From beginning both lawmen suspected the hit on Jennifer was connected with Shelia; proving it had not been easy. Detectives sprung into action to find other witnesses with first-hand knowledge about Shelia Dillard’s brutal deed.
Sergeant Tom Ladd partnered with Burmester to assist Douglas and Anderson to bring the case to a final solution. Ladd interviewed a female witness on April 6th at Saint James Rehab Center in Houston. Samari Michelle Dobbins, a close friend of Shelia Dillard, shared her own secret about murder. Samari said Shelia broke down crying implicating herself in the homicide.
“Me and Gary Chopp followed Jennifer to school,” Samar recalled Shelia’s words. “And we parked near a track.” When Shelia saw Jennifer, Samari stated, Shelia said to her that she ordered Chopp, “to go get that bitch, go get her.”
After Chopp killed the defenseless victim, Shelia told Samari the hitman ran back to her car and they drove off. Samari further recalled being at Shelia’s apartment on West Airport watching TV news when a report came on about the murder. “Shelia turned to Chopp, and shouted, ‘get rid of that hat.’ ” Embarrassed, Chopp threw the hat into a dumpster outside the apartment.
Meanwhile Shelia, Samari remembered, “paced the floor back and forth, waiting for her brother Darrell Dillard to return with her car. Samari explained to Ladd that Shelia had swapped off her beige-colored Ford to drive a Red Pontiac car that she used in the crime, a car owned by Darrell’s girlfriend named Gail.
“That night, Samari further told Ladd, the 10 P.M. news came on showing a photo of Jennifer Lewis. “And this is when, Little Melvin, Shelia’s son, said, ‘mother that’s my daddy’s girlfriend.’ ”
Then Shelia asked the kid, “if he liked his daddy’s girlfriend. And if he thought she was pretty.”
With an innocent look, the young child, replied, “Yeah I like her. She’s pretty momma.”
Ladd cracked a smile about the amusing incident. Samari identified Darrell Dillard as the person who introduced Gary Chopp to his sister, Shelia. And she also revealed the fact she knew Darrell provided the gun, a 38, to Chopp. Darrell disposed of the gun and Shelia paid Chopp the money for the hit on Jennifer.
But there was a catch. Darrell had sold Chopp so much crack cocaine in advance on credit, the money he earned for the murder, he wounded up handing over a total $300 back to Darrell. Samari consoled Shelia as she sobbed uncontrollably, then according to the witness, Shelia deadpanned. “I didn’t want the bitch dead!” “I’m hurt and I wanted the bitch to be hurt too.”
Gary Lane Chopp
The Takedown
After taking Samari Dobbins statement, Anderson, Ladd, Burmester and Douglas met at Harris County District Attorney Office where they discussed the evidence with Assistant D.A. Susan Brown. Brown filed murder charges against Shelia Dillard, Gary Lane Chopp and Darrell Dillard. Lieutnant Knunkel organized detectives and HPD patrol officers to take the suspects down.
Clad in raid jackets, armed with heavy firepower, three different groups of officers during (early morning hours) at 2:a.m., they hit three address simultaneously. Detective Anderson arrested Shelia Dillard at Melvin Reed’s apartment on South Loop West.
Anderson berated Reed for lying about Shelia not being there. “I wanted to take him to jail,” Anderson recalled to this writer.
Detectives Burmester, Mike Peters, George Aldrete and Frank Scoggins arrested hitman Chopp on Heatherbrook. Detective Douglas, Tom Ladd, and A.T. Hermann took Darrell
Dillard down on Fondren. All three suspects were transported downtown to the city homicide division.
Truth Comes to Light
Trapped like a wounded animal, Shelia Dillard sobbed heavily until her eyes appeared blood-shot red. She didn’t want to talk with Anderson. He had already put the fear of God in her when he talked to her the first time. Douglas was her choice. Like a patient mentor, Douglas kindly explained to Shelia that she was carrying a heavy burden, and that she had made the worst mistake in her life. He impressed upon her that he needed to hear the whole story to get everything straight.
“Alright Shelia tell me what happened,” Douglas spoke in his gentle tone voice. Shelia Dillard confessed hiring a heartless killer to murder Jennifer Lewis, a killer that she paid $700 dollars! Detective Douglas listened in awe as this scorned woman recalled masterminding a scheme to eliminate a rival who won the affection of Melvin Reed, a man who Shelia loved too much, and had loved him so much until she killed another woman, standing in her way. Shelia said after she broke up with Reed in December 1992 that her brother Darrell Dillard made repeated comments indicating, “I looked stressed, had lost weight, and appeared worried over losing Reed to another woman.”
“I told him that I was just sick. But he said he would take care of it and make it alright.” Darrell and his girlfriend named Gail was living with Shelia at the time on West Airport. She would drop them off during the day at a crack house on Darlinghurst street.
“The day before the shooting I was at Melvin Reed’s place and I saw his phone book sitting on the bar. I already knew Jennifer’s phone number. But I didn’t know her address so I looked in the phone book and saw a letter sent to Melvin from Jennifer. I wrote the address on paper. And when Melvin came out of the restroom taking a shower I went home.”
On following day, that she received a “pager beep” that she carried in her purse. When she called the number, Darrell Dillard asked Shelia to meet him at the “crack house”.
Referring to killing Jennifer, Darrell said, “I got someone to take care of everything.”
“I didn’t ask him what he meant,” Shelia offered to Douglas.
After entering the “crack house” Shelia recalled Darrell introduced her to Gary lane Chopp, a drug-addicted hitman ready “asap” for the job.
“This is my buddy named Chopp,” Shelia recalled her brother saying.
Stalking a Victim
Shelia Dillard and her gang stalked Jennifer for hours before she was hunted down and brutally shot to death. Along with Shelia, Chopp and her brother Darrell, the trio drove to Melvin Reed’s apartment located on South Loop West to see if Jennifer was there. When no one answered Shelia’s repeated door “knocks” the suspects left. Having Jennifer’s address off Daphne street, Shelia drove down Daphne(prounounced Daph-her-nee) with Chopp riding shotgun. With no sign of the intended victim, Shelia dropped Chopp and Darrell off at the”crack house” on Darlinghurst street.
On March 23rd, Shelia met again with Darrell and Gary Chopp. Chopp, anticipating to shed blood, looked intently into Shelia’s eyes, and said, “I’m going to take care of that girl,” Shelia said to Douglas. The detective boiled with anger over the fact the young woman lost her life over a senseless situation.
“I told Chopp that Jennifer must be home because Melvin was at work. I drove on down Scott street to an Exxon Station on Yellowstone where I called Jennifer’s number from a pay phone. Once I dialed the number I gave the phone to Chopp.”
In a mild-tone voice, Chopp asked, “Is Jennifer there?”
A person who answered the call, said, “she’s here.” Chopp hung up, turned to Shelia, and stated, “she’s there.”
Playing spy games, Shelia and Chopp parked on Daphne street in front of a vacant house watching Jennifer’s address where she lived with her parents. When a suspicious man observed the couple, Chopp exited the vehicle driven by Shelia, walked over to the man, explaining they were waiting on a real estate agent.
Shelia continued. “We were still waiting when Chopp, looking through binoculars saw an uniformed mailman carrying a black briefcase walking across Jennifer’s yard.
“It’s Melvin,” Shelia yelled out. Next, Chopp pressured Shelia to drive to a nearby store so he could buy a cold beer. At the store, Shelia gave Chopp the phone again after dialing Jennifer’s number.
“Is Jennifer there?” Chopp asked. Hearing a man’s voice, the hitman quickly hung up.
Realizing she needed to pick up her children from elementary school, the stake out momentarily ended. After picking up her children, Shelia and Chopp met her brother Darrell along with his girlfriend to exchange vehicles in the parking lot of a popular nightclub called Carrington. Carrington was located off South Main street near 610 loop Freeway. Shelia gave Darrell her beige Ford Topaz and he gave a late model Red Pontiac Sundance that belonged to Gail his girlfriend. The car had dealer’s tag in the window. Darrell convinced his girlfriend Gail that his sister needed to use a different vehicle to take care of some business.
Returning to Daphne street where Jennifer lived, Shelia and Chopp observed Jennifer getting into a vehicle with two people inside. Shelia followed the vehicle to Melvin Reed’s apartment where the driver stopped at the entry gate.
“We stopped on the street and when Chopp jumped out of my car and walked up to the car that Jennifer was in–he saw a security man at the guard shack.”
Hesitant to act, Chopp hurried back into Shelia’s car. They followed the vehicle onto the premises. Undecided how to approach the vehicle the suspects watched as Melvin got out of the car, handed Jennifer a cell phone. Shelia watched in a state of rage as her former lover passionately kissed the new woman in his life. Her heart broke into many pieces.
“What happened when you all made it to the campus where Jennifer went to school?” Detective Douglas inquired.
“When we got to the school….Jennifer and another girl went into the parking lot. Chopp told me to drive straight and stop by the Railroad Tracks and keep the car running. I stopped at the tracks, Chopp got out, walked behind the car towards the school with a gun inside a bag.”
“Then I heard a gunshot. I looked up in my mirror, and seen Chopp running towards the car. He got in and told me to go! He still had the gun in his hand.”
Both suspects fled the scene; the getaway car crossed over the tracks as Shelia drove the vehicle onto the 288 freeway. Gripping the steering wheel, she accelerated the gas pedal to a high speed while Chopp pulled off a burgundy shirt and threw it out the window.
“She’s at the hospital,she’ll be alright,” Shelia spoke out loudly. “No, I got her real good in the back; it’ll stop her from breathing,” hitman Chopp shot back with a glare. “I started to shoot the other girl walking with Jennifer, Chopp further said, but I only had two bullets in the gun and had to save a bullet, in case someone tried to catch me.”
Safe at home, Shelia told Douglas she was so upset until she cried out to her friend Samara Dobbins. “I told her that Chopp had shot Jennifer so she got me something to drink to calm me down. We stayed inside and watched the news.” “I got a call from Melvin Reed later that night asking for Jennifer’s picture.
When I asked why he wanted the picture, he said because Jennifer is dead!”
A Cheap Hitman Paid Off
Hitman Gary Chopp was paid off a few days later for killing Jennifer Lewis when Shelia returned to the ‘crack house” where Chopp, her brother Darrell and other small time dealers and users mingled in and out of the residence. Actually Shelia tried to dupe Douglas into believing she never paid Chopp any money for the hit. Instead she insisted she gave money to her brother Darrell to invest in his crack selling hustle in return for a profit on the money she fronted. “If Darrell gave the money to Chopp it was because Chopp was working for Darrell in the dope house.”
Yet what Shelia didn’t know is that her friend Samari Dobbins had already made a detailed statement to police indicating she knew firsthand that Shelia paid Chopp $700 in increments for shooting Jennifer. Dobbins told Detective Anderson and Douglas that Shelia told her that when she saw Jennifer on the campus she had told Chopp, “there go that bitch, go get her. I’m hurt and I wanted the bitch to be hurt.”
Gary Lane Chopp confessed being the hitman who stole the life of a beautiful, progressive, innocent woman, all for a few hundred dollars spent on “crack cocaine.” “I have known Darrell Dillard (Shelia’s brother) for about 4 or 5 years. Last year I was using crack, about 5 or 10 rocks per-day. Darrell was someone I would buy crack from.” “One day Darrell asked me if I would like to make a little money doing something for someone. He said he needed someone hurt and that the job would pay $700.” Darrell, acting as a broker and middleman, told Chopp that out of the $700 that he wanted $400 and that Chopp would get $300!
Chopp resumed his story. “I told him, yeah, I can do that. Then I started getting crack from Darrell on credit. He let me have it so I could do this job for him.” Finally Darrell introduced Chopp to his sister Shelia at the dope house on Darlinghurst. During this initial meeting, Chopp said Shelia impressed upon him that she wanted something done to her boyfriend who worked at the Post Office.
Chopp’s statement pretty much corroborated Shelia’s involvement in Jennifer’s murder except for he told detectives it was Shelia who set everything up; spying on Jennifer’s house with binoculars,exchanging vehicles with her brother, and had went as far as to buy flowers for him to act as a delivery man to get Jennifer to come to her door so he could kill her.
Recalling in vivid details how himself with Shelia driving the Red car followed Jennifer and her friend from Melvin’s house to the nursing school off 288 freeway at Macgregor, Chopp stated: “Shelia parked by the Rail Road tracks and I got out of the car and walked up to where the two girls was walking and shot Jennifer. She took off running down the sidewalk when I shot her. Then I ran to the car and we took off.” Next day, Chopp said Darrell told him the woman died. Detectives were repulsed to hear the young woman was murdered by someone who was so cold who took her life to be paid $300.!
Detective Anderson gave Darrell Dillard his Miranda rights, explaining he had the “right” to remain silent or have an attorney present during questioning. But Dillard rebuffed detectives by denying accusations leveled against him. Sergeant-Detectives Mike Peters and George Aldrete joined Anderson to coax Dillard into incriminating himself to strengthen the murder case. “I have nothing to do with nobody’s murder,” Dillard told detectives.
When shown a photo of Gary Chopp, the man who Dillard hired for his sister to kill the victim, he denied knowing Chopp. Detectives tried another ploy. Since Gary Chopp had told detectives that he wanted to speak with Dillard, the officers seized this opportunity to have Chopp confront the guy.
“Maybe he’ll break,” Anderson suggested. Once Chopp entered the room he stared at Dillard and said, “You need to get your business straight. Look at us now. If it wasn’t for you, none of us would be here. We’re screwed up because of you!” Dillard acknowledged him, but said nothing in return. Sergeant Peters read Shelia’s statement to Dillard implicating him in the murder, still, he refused to admit involvement. After wrapping up the case, all three suspects charged with murder were placed in city jail.
News Media Coverage
On Friday, April 8th 1994, local TV stations aired several stories highlighting the work done by police that led to solving the case. Houston Chronicle published a feature story about the arrested suspects charged with murder in the 185th Criminal District Court. Houstonians were stunned to hear how a young lady was murdered in cold blood at the hands of a drug-addicted hitman whose share of the $700 payoff, was a pitiful $300.
In a perverse way, Gary Lane was a cold piece of work by killing an innocent woman for $300. Equally disgusting, Chopp, the hitman, never got the money in cash; he owed it for crack cocaine that he purchased in advance from Darrell Dillard, the drug dealer who brokered the murder . Still in mourning yet the arrests satisfied the victim’s parents.
“At first I thought it was a dream,” Bernard Lewis, the victim’s father, told a Chronicle reporter about the 4:a.m. call from detectives.” “To think somebody would take a life on that account, it’s just unbelievable, like an animal so to speak,” Mr. Lewis added. Attending church with friends and prayers to God helped the victim’s parents to cope with the tragedy. “When somebody’s gone, that’s all you can do,” the father lamented.
Detectives were overwhelmingly excited to put the killers behind bars. “We never put the case down,” Douglas told reporters. “We always waited for the final piece. It feels real good. We put in a lot of hours.”
Anderson agreed. “We were ecstatic to call Mr. Lewis and say, we caught your daughter’s killer.
What impulse triggered Shelia Dillard to kill another woman over a man who now neither one would have. Douglas summed it up: “It was all about jealousy.” “Shelia couldn’t stand to lose Melvin to Jennifer. He had broken up with her and wouldn’t take her back, but he still would have sex with Shelia. But Jennifer was the woman he wanted to marry.”
Final Chapter
Convicted murderer Shelia Dillard (inmate#754469) received 50 years in prison on May 31st 1996. A model inmate she now resides at a prison unit in Gatesville Texas. She came up for parole in 2010. Her parole was denied until 2014. Gary Lane Chopp (inmate#739474) got life in prison on November 14th, 1995. He reside at the Clements prison in Amarillo Texas. His next parole date scheduled for 2029.
Darrell Dillard previously made parole on the 20-year sentence that he received for his role in Jennifer Lewis death but currently he’s back in prison serving a long stretch on an unrelated case.
Sergeant-Detective Rueben Anderson retired from the city police department in 2003, the same year he unsuccessfully ran for Harris County Constable Precinct# 7, a top law enforcement position.. Bored with retirement, Anderson returned to Houston Police Department in 2007 to work as an information analyst in the Homicide Cold Case Murder division.
Leaving the department again in 2009, Anderson retired into a dedicated christian life working in the ministry, winning lost souls for Christ.
Sergeant Clarence Douglas left Houston Police Department in March 2005 to work for Recovery Healthcare Corporation. Prior to leaving the city, Douglas worked on the heartbreaking high-profile case of Raysate Knight aka Angel Doe. Raysate was a 6-year-old child killed by her mother and stepfather. Along with Detective Darcus Shorten. Douglas persistent work on the Angel Doe case was featured in Lois Gibson true-crime book: Face of Evil. Gibson is a world-renowned forensic artist.
Gibson’s superior artist work has been listed in the Guinness Book of World Records as “The world’s most successful forensic artist whose sketches has helped law enforcement capture over 1000 wanted criminals.”
It has been 20 years since Jennifer Lewis was murdered. Her remains lie in Houston Memorial Garden Cemetery. But her spirit lives on.
Clarence Walker can be reached at: truecrimewriter83@gmail.com
