Slain Nash deputy laid to rest

A Nash County sheriff's deputy who was shot to death while serving a murder warrant was laid to rest Monday with a ceremony that attracted a large crowd.

Posted 1:32 p.m. Jun 13, 2011 — Updated 10:35 p.m. Jun 13, 2011

BAILEY, N.C. — A Nash County sheriff's deputy who was shot to death while serving a murder warrant was laid to rest Monday with a ceremony that attracted hundreds of law enforcement officers from across North Carolina.

Deputy Warren Lewis' funeral was scheduled for 2 p.m. at Southern Nash Senior High School in Bailey. Lewis will be buried in a Middlesex cemetery.

Lewis, 38, was a member of a task force of local and federal police officers and was shot and killed Thursday in Kinston. The task force was investigating a June 2 killing.

Four people are currently being held on charges in connection with Lewis' death.

Lamont D. Byrd, 18, Kion Tyearl Dail, 16, Devine Slade, 17, and Maretto Byrd, 26, are each charged with murder.

Lewis, of Middlesex, had served with the Nash County Sheriff’s Office for more than nine years. He had been on the Eastern North Carolina Fugitive Task Force, a cooperative venture between the U.S. Marshals Service and local law enforcement agencies, for the past three years.

He is survived by his wife, Shannon, and daughters, Lauren, 14, and Ashley, 11.

"We're going to miss him," Nash County Sheriff Richard Jenkins said Monday. "I've been in this business 40-plus years, and he's as good as I've ever seen."

Editor's note: WRAL News had planned to cover the funeral live on WRAL.com, but the Nash County Sheriff's Office denied the request Monday. Officials cited the potential for jeopardizing any undercover identities and operations because of the high number of federal and local law enforcement officers expected to attend.

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