Search and arrest warrants unsealed in case of Northeast Portland man accused of killing tenant

Maxine Bernstein

The day after Portland police were called to do a welfare check at the Northeast Portland home of Gary Alan Lewis on June 7, officers were checking a backyard shed when they heard what sounded like a “banging” noise near a trailer on the property.

They called out the missing tenant’s name Renee Sandidge, but heard no reply, according to court records released Monday. Sgt. Steve Collins and other officers entered at least two different sheds and found no sign of Sandidge.

Three days later, police returned to the home and found Sandidge’s body hidden in a wall of one of the backyard sheds, authorities said.

Lewis, now facing charges of murder, second-degree abuse of a corpse, unlawful use of a weapon and felon in possession of body armor in connection with Sandidge’s death, had told his wife on June 7 that he had been in an argument with Sandidge, his basement tenant, that morning. But Lewis added that “nothing had happened,” according to two search warrant affidavits now unsealed.

It was Lewis’ 15-year-old daughter who had spotted her father involved in suspicious behavior when the teen returned home about 8:15 a.m and went into the backyard to get her dog.

The girl saw her father swinging an object and heard moaning. Her father told her to go back into the house, which she did, according to the affidavit. The teen then saw her father dragging a tarp toward a large shed in the backyard, and it appeared as if there was a body beneath it, Det. Erik Kammerer wrote in the affidavit.

Lewis’ daughter saw the tarp flap open, and she saw a woman’s body – dressed in khaki pants and a pink shirt.

“She believed Renee Sandidge was inside the tarp,” the affidavit said.

Gary Alan Lewis is accused of killing 59-year-old Renee Sandidge by blunt-force trauma to the head on June 7.

Sandidge rented the basement of Lewis’ home at 3934 N.E. 66th Ave. — and her body was found in the wall of a shed in his backyard, authorities said.

Court records indicate that Lewis used a hammer to assault Sandidge. Strands of hair were found on a hammer seized from a trailer parked in the backyard, next to the house. Two jugs of bleach were also found in the trailer, another in the backyard, the affidavits said.

The daughter told her mother about what she saw that morning and Lewis’ wife confronted Lewis in the home. He admitted having a disagreement with Sandidge but said nothing happened. Lewis’ wife and daughter left the home and called police.

Police arrived at Lewis’ home about 11 a.m. on June 7. Using a loudspeaker, they told Lewis to come out.  When he didn’t, police fired tear gas canisters into the home. When they stormed the house, they didn’t find Lewis.

Neighbor Thomas Manwell told investigators that he had heard Sandidge yelling “Help me! Help me!” about 6:30 a.m. that day, the affidavit said. Manwell’s wife told investigators she had overheard Sandidge repeat “Oh no” twice that morning, while standing in the Lewis’ driveway.

Police obtained search warrants and searched the home, outbuildings and a bunker beneath the driveway — they did it slowly because they worried Lewis might have booby-trapped the property.

Sandidge was nowhere to be found during initial searches, but they found a bloodied tarp next to the trailer on the south side of the home, what looked like her eyeglasses in one of the sheds and a large amount of blood near the stairs leading to the basement of the house, according to the affidavits.

Police also did find several surveillance cameras situated around the home, and a large TV in the living room that was being used as a monitor for the security system, an affidavit said. Detectives had forensic criminalists enter the home to disconnect the DVR-style security recording device and examine it to determine if it had captured images of Lewis’ alleged fatal assault on Sandidge.

In an attic, police discovered four ballistic vets. In a backyard shed, they found ammunition, holsters and 48 pounds of silver and a half pound of gold, the affidavit said.

A ping of Sandidge’s cell phone signals came back to vicinity of Lewis’ home on Northeast 66th Avenue.

Police found Sandidge’s body three days after first arriving at the home — hidden in a wall of one of the sheds.

About 8:03 p.m. on June 12, a neighbor spotted Lewis walking about 3 1/2 blocks from his home and alerted police. Lewis was arrested in the 4500 block of Northeast 68^th Avenue, jail records show.

According to reports unsealed and filed Monday, Lewis was carrying about $1,400 in cash, boxes of raisins and a book by Nathaniel Hawthorne.

Source: oregonlive