Johnny Lewis

Jonathan Kendrick Lewis (October 29, 1983 – September 26, 2012) was an American actor. He was best known for playing Kip "Half-Sack" Epps in the first two seasons of the FX series Sons of Anarchy, and for other television roles such as Gilby in The Sausage Factory (2001–2002), Pearce Chase in Quintuplets (2004–2005) and Dennis "Chili" Childress in The O.C. (2005–2006). Lewis also appeared in supporting roles in the films Underclassman, Aliens vs. Predator: Requiem (2007), Felon (2008) and The Runaways (2010).

After sustaining head trauma from a motorcycle accident in 2011, Lewis was arrested three times between 2011 and 2012. In September 2012, he murdered the owner of a home in which he was renting a room and killed her cat. He was fatally injured after falling off the roof of the house.

Career Lewis began making television appearances while in his late teens, with guest starring roles in Boston Public (2000), The Guardian (2001) and American Dreams (2002), among others. He made his feature film debut in 2004, in New Line Cinema's Raise Your Voice, and followed that up with Miramax Films' Underclassman in 2005. He co-starred as Pearce Chase, one of five siblings on the Fox series Quintuplets. Lewis also guest starred in four episodes of the Nickelodeon television series Drake & Josh as Scottie, one of Drake's bandmates, and from 2005 to 2006 he played Dennis "Chili" Childress on The O.C., another Fox series. He had a guest spot during the fifth season of Smallville, also in 2005. Lewis portrayed a copycat serial killer in Criminal Minds season 4 episode 15, "Zoe's Reprise" in 2009, which was his last television appearance before his death.

Lewis also starred in the film Magic Valley (2011), which premiered at the Tribeca Film Festival. He became well known for his role as prospect biker Kip "Half-Sack" Epps in the first two seasons of the FX series Sons of Anarchy.

Personal life Lewis dated American singer Katy Perry from 2005 to 2006. In mid-2009 he learned that he and his then-girlfriend, actress Diane Gaeta, were expecting their first child. The couple had split up by April 6, 2010, when the couple's daughter, Culla May, was born, but briefly attempted sharing a residence. Lewis eventually moved out, after which the couple engaged in a "long and painful" custody battle that Lewis ultimately lost.

Religion Lewis was raised in a household that followed Scientology; his parents attained the highest available level within the Church of Scientology, called "Operating Thetan Level VIII", or OT VIII. However, Lewis left Scientology in his early 20s.

Legal troubles Lewis was arrested three times between 2011 and 2012. In January 2012, he struck two men in the head with a bottle while engaged in a fight. He pleaded no contest to charges of assault with a deadly weapon in the case.

Bill Jensen reported in Los Angeles magazine that Lewis' family and attorneys pushed for rehab for marijuana addiction to avoid trial. When counselors observing Lewis rejected this, they pursued rehab for alcoholism instead. Davis was found dead inside the house with severe head injuries; her pet cat was also found dead in the bathroom.

Neighbors reported that Lewis had jumped over a fence to the next-door property, assaulted a house painter and the homeowner (to whom Lewis had earlier introduced himself as "John, your new neighbor") and then jumped back over the fence onto Davis' property. His death was investigated as a homicide, and it was later determined that he had killed Davis by manual strangulation and blunt force trauma to her head.

An autopsy report released on November 29, 2012, stated that Lewis did not have any drugs or alcohol in his system when he died. Toxicology reports came back negative for alcohol, marijuana, cocaine, psychedelic drugs or anti-psychotic medication.

Filmography Film Year Title Role 2004 Raise Your Voice Engelbert "Kiwi" Wilson 2005 Pretty Persuasion Warren Prescott 2005 Underclassman Alexander Jeffries 2007 Palo Alto Nolan 2007 Aliens vs. Predator: Requiem Ricky Howard 2008 One Missed Call Brian Sousa 2008 Felon Snowman 2010 Scottie 2011 Lovely Molly Tim 2011 Magic Valley John 2012 186 Dollars to Freedom Jorge

Television Year Title Role Notes 2000 7th Heaven Norton Episode: "Tunes" 2000 Malcolm in the Middle Cadet Martin Episode: "Therapy" 2001–2003 Boston Public Bodhi 4 episodes 2001 Undressed Ray 5 episodes 2001–2002 Gilby Main cast 2001 Judging Amy Desmond Episode: "Surprised by Gravity" 2002 Ted Popper Episode: "Mothers of the Disappeared" 2002 Yes, Dear Ricky Episode: "Making Babies" 2003–2004 American Dreams Lenny Recurring role (season 2) 2004 Drake & Josh Scottie 4 episodes 2004–2005 Quintuplets Pearce Chase Main cast 2005–2006 Dennis "Chili" Childress Recurring role (season 3) 2005 Smallville Gabriel Duncan Episode: "Hidden" 2006 CSI: Crime Scene Investigation Tad Sidley Episode: "Up in Smoke" 2007 Bones Enzo Falcinella Episode: "The Priest in the Churchyard" 2007 Shark Michael Hackford Episode: "Student Body" 2008 Cold Case Truitt "Spider" Leland '98 Episode: "Spiders" 2008–2009 Sons of Anarchy Kip "Half Sack" Epps Main cast (seasons 1–2) 2009 Criminal Minds Eric Ryan Olson Episode: "Zoe's Reprise", final television role