The District of Columbia man who shot and killed 13-year-old Karon Blake two years ago after the boy was caught breaking into his car was sentenced Friday to over 12 years behind bars.

D.C. Superior Court Judge Anthony Epstein sentenced Jason Lewis, 43, to 150 months in prison for the deadly January 2023 shooting that the legal gun owner argued was in self-defense. 

Prosecutors were seeking a 25-year sentence, while Lewis’ attorneys asked for a five-year term.

Just before the sentencing, Lewis apologized for the “pain and hurt” he caused the Blake family. He was handcuffed inside the courthouse after Judge Epstein read his sentence.  

A jury found Lewis guilty in August on charges of voluntary manslaughter, assault with a dangerous weapon and multiple other gun-related crimes following a trial centered around the defendant’s self-defense claim.

Lewis testified he was protecting himself from Karon after seeing a gun muzzle flash from the teen theft crew’s getaway car as he investigated the predawn break-in on Jan. 7, 2023.

But a jury sided with prosecutors, who said there was no video evidence of another gun being fired, with no bullet fragments or impacts seen near where Lewis shot on the 1000 block of Quincy Street Northeast. 

Prosecutors also argued Lewis never mentioned the purported gunshot to officers who responded to the scene. Police found no weapons on Karon’s body.

Court testimony revealed one of the juvenile thieves ran back toward the getaway car, which originally held three boys, after hearing Lewis go onto the street just before 4 a.m.

Lewis shot first at the getaway car, causing the driver and another teen to speed off.

Karon, who wasn’t aware of Lewis’ presence until hearing the initial gunshot, began running moments later.

The 13-year-old unwittingly sprinted from the car toward Lewis, who shot the boy twice.

“I’m sorry! I’m sorry! I’m just a kid! I’m 12!” Karon could be heard saying on Lewis’ surveillance camera. He died at a hospital shortly afterward.

Gun owners in D.C. can’t use deadly force to defend property. 

The case sparked public outrage as the Metropolitan Police took weeks to formally arrest Lewis while he cooperated with authorities in home confinement. 

Judge Epstein, who admonished Lewis during the trial for being untruthful about the thieves’ shooting and for keeping his wife in hiding so she wouldn’t be compelled to testify, handed down the minimum recommended sentence in the case.

The judge also said he would ask D.C. jail and Federal Bureau of Prisons officials to put Lewis in protective custody while he’s locked up.

• Matt Delaney can be reached at mdelaney@washingtontimes.com.