California Cops Found a Stolen Car, Spotted the Nearest Black Man and Decided the Case Was Solved — The Victim Said It Wasn’t Him and Somehow His Fiancée Ended Up in Handcuffs Too
California cops searching for a Black man accused of committing an armed carjacking instead arrested the closest Black man to the recovered vehicle — even though he was sitting in his own car and had no connection to the crime.
Ronnie Lewis was wearing light-colored clothing, while the suspect had been described by the victim as wearing all black.
Even after Vallejo police brought the victim to the scene, he told officers he could not identify Lewis because the carjacker had been wearing a face mask.
Nevertheless, Vallejo police arrested Lewis on felony carjacking charges, along with his fiancée, Candace Evans, who was sitting in the passenger seat of Lewis’ car — despite the victim never reporting that a woman was involved.
Last week, Lewis and Evans filed a lawsuit against Vallejo police officers Rosendo Mesa and Jeremy Callinan, accusing them of violating their Fourth and 14th Amendment rights through unlawful detention, false arrest, fabrication of evidence, battery, false imprisonment, and malicious prosecution.
The claim, filed by San Francisco attorney Stanley Goff, also accuses the city of Vallejo of negligence and names several unidentified officers as John Does.
“It is alleged that Defendant Mesa knowingly and intentionally misrepresented the plaintiff’s clothing in his police report to align with the victim’s description of ‘all-black clothing,’” the claim states.
“The plaintiffs’ vehicle was searched by Defendant Callinan without consent or probable cause to believe it was involved in a crime,” the claim also states.
Multiple Lawsuits Against Same Cops
The Vallejo Police Department has a long history of racial profiling and misconduct, including a practice known as “badge bending,” in which officers bend the tips of their star-shaped badges after killing a person.
Callinan has been named in at least one other lawsuit involving an incident in which he restrained a man who later died after telling officers, “I can’t breathe.”
Mesa has been named as a defendant in at least three other lawsuits, including one alleging that officers forced the department’s first Black police chief to resign through racial threats and intimidation after he attempted to implement reforms.
“As Chief Williams began implementing reform within the police department, he faced tremendous backlash from command staff and some patrol officers — not only due to his reform efforts and attempts to hold officers accountable, but because he was African American in a department and city with a long history of deeply ingrained, overt racism,” states a lawsuit filed last year by civil rights attorney Melissa Nold.
The ACLU of Northern California has also sued the department in an effort to decertify several officers after shooting and killing 20-year-old rapper Willie McCoy.
“The Vallejo Police Department is one of the most deadly and abusive police forces in the nation,” the ACLU of Northern California states on its website.
‘Decades of Police Brutality’
The lawsuit stems from a May 18, 2024, incident in which a man reported being carjacked by a Black suspect wearing all-black clothing and a partially concealed face. The victim told police the suspect acted alone.
Officers later found the stolen vehicle about three miles away, unoccupied. They then saw Lewis nearby getting into the driver’s seat of his Nissan Rogue, with Evans in the passenger seat, both unaware of the nearby stolen car.
Police pulled up behind them and ordered them out at gunpoint.
“Plaintiff Ronnie Lewis was wearing a gray Adidas sweatshirt with a distinctive white Adidas emblem on the chest, white stripes on both sleeves, a white T-shirt underneath, and light blue jeans,” the claim states.
“The plaintiff repeatedly stated he had done nothing wrong. At that moment, Defendant Mesa deployed his Taser, striking the plaintiff in the left ribcage. He was then handcuffed and placed in the back of a patrol car.”
Officers also tackled and handcuffed Evans, placing her in a patrol car and allegedly slamming the door on her leg, injuring her knee.
When brought to the scene, the victim “told the defendants that he could not identify the plaintiff as the person who robbed him,” the claim states.
Nevertheless, Lewis was arrested and charged with felony carjacking, while Evans was charged with obstruction. Her charges were later dismissed, but Lewis faced charges for 12 months before his case was dismissed.
There is no indication police attempted to locate the actual suspect.
Watch the video posted below by the ACLU where they describe the departments long history of racial profiling and police abuse.
“This small city has faced decades of police brutality,” the speaker says. “At times, the Vallejo Police Department used more force per arrest than any other law enforcement agency in our state.”