Spanish Louie

John Lewis (died April 1, 1910), better known by his alias Indian or Spanish Louie (Lewis), was an American criminal and member of the Humpty Jackson Gang, serving as the gang leader's longtime lieutenant from around the turn of the 20th century until his murder in either 1900 or 1910. His death was the first recorded use of a drive by shooting as a means of gangland execution in New York City.

Early years in the New York underworld John Lewis was born in New York City, although his background remained a mystery to both the underworld and authorities for much of his life. Lewis did not have a criminal record with the New York City Police Department and was one of the few underworld figures to have avoided being "booked" by the famed Central Office despite being investigated for an unsolved homicide. It was the Mulberry Police Precinct that investigated this claim, at the time mostly based on rumor but one which he had admitted to, yet was cleared after finding no evidence to substantiate these claims.

Death Less than a year on the Lower East Side, Lewis's bullet-riddled body was found in Twelfth Street near Second Avenue. He was found with $170 in his pocket, $700 in his shoe and had about $3,000 deposited in the Bowery Savings Bank. The murder was never solved and it was also revealed at his funeral, held as an orthodox Jewish burial by his father, that Lewis was in actuality from a Sephardic Jewish family in Brooklyn. Lewis had been hired by Herman Rosenthal in 1909 to beat up one of his rivals, Bridgie Webber. Lewis was later targeted to be killed because of his association with Rosenthal and, after being lured to his East Eleventh Street apartment late one evening, several men in a passing Pierce Arrow called out to him as he stood on the doorstep. The men opened fire and Lewis was killed as he ran towards a side street.

In popular culture Lewis has appeared in several historical novels including Before My Life Began (1985) by Jay Neugeboren, Dreamland (1999) by Kevin Baker and Cityside (2003) by William Heffernan.