Man Accidentally Shoots Girlfriend on New Year’s Day

Man Accidentally Shoots Girlfriend on New Year’s Day

SACRAMENTO—A 24-year-old Sacramento man was arrested for shooting his girlfriend on New Year’s Day.

The 22-year-old mother died after she was shot by Steven Michael Lucas on January 1, 2015 at 12:06 am in the parking lot of an apartment complex in the 5700 block of Callie Lane off of  Madison Avenue, Sacramento County deputies said. The Sheriff’s Communications Center received several calls reporting the shooting of a female in the parking lot. The woman—whose name has not yet been released—was taken to a hospital, where she died from her wounds Thursday evening.

Crime scene tape closed off two sections of the apartment complex as authorities searched for information about the shooting. Detectives investigating the shooting reportedly found the victim had sustained a critical life-threatening injury, which they believed had been inflicted accidentally by her boyfriend, Lucas.

Lucas has been charged with involuntary manslaughter. He was originally booked into the Sacramento County Jail on a charge of negligent discharge of a firearm causing injury.

Image of Kaylee Leavitt and Steven Lucas from the gofundme site set up on her behalf.

Image of Kaylee Leavitt and Steven Lucas from the gofundme site set up on her behalf.

Detectives urged anyone with information about this incident to contact the sheriff’s department at (916) 874-5115 or Crime Alert at (916) 443-HELP. Tip information may also be left anonymously at the sheriff’s website tip submissions page, by texting 274637 (CRIMES) and entering the keyword ‘SSD’, or by calling (916) 874-TIPS (8477).

Update: The Sacramento Coroner has released the name of the victim of the shooting as Kayley Jayde Leavitt, 23 of Sacramento. Kayley’s sister, Donnielle Silva has set up a “GoFundMe” website to raise money for her funeral and other expenses. As of this writing, half of the $5,000 goal has been raised, according to the page.

People wishing to support Kayley Leavitt’s family may visit gofundme.com/jm2et0.

CrimeVoice writer Corrie Pelc and CrimeVoice staff contributed to this story.

Update 5/6/2015: Steven Lucas pleaded guilty to a charge of involuntary manslaughter, accepting a five year probation sentence in the death of Kaylee Leavitt. The judge was reported to warn that he faces up to 14 years in prison if he is found to violate the conditions of his probation.

Read More:

SacBee: Woman allegedly shot by boyfriend dies

Man Accidentally Shoots Girlfriend on New Year’s Day was last modified: May 6th, 2015 by admin
Categories: Sacramento

About Author

Lisa Kopochinski

Lisa Kopochinski is a freelance writer and editor who has written articles on numerous topics from crime, social justice and environmental issues to construction, travel and business profiles. Her work has appeared in the Sacramento Business Journal, Comstock’s, and many trade publications in both the U.S. and Canada. She can be reached at LKopochinski@unitedreporting.com.