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A Port Arthur man was found guilty on two counts of injury to a child in connection with the May 2022 death of a special needs boy.

Sentencing for Jaylin Lewis, 26, will begin Thursday in Judge Raquel West’s 252 District Court. Each first-degree felony charge carries a punishment range of five to 99 years or life.

Jurors found Lewis guilty after a short deliberation Wednesday afternoon in the death of King Dewey, a 4-year-old with Down’s Syndrome found emaciated and dead. His former girlfriend, who is a sister of Dewey, pleaded guilty earlier this week to two counts of injury to a child and was sentenced to 30 years.

During Lewis’ trial, defense attorney Tom Burbank called only one witness to the stand, Lewis.

Through questioning jurors learned Lewis has nine siblings and dropped out of Memorial High School but earned his GED. He has one son, now 5-years-old, with a woman in Humble.

Lewis met his then-girlfriend Kirsten Louis, the sister of King Dewey, in 2019 and the two began dating. They eventually moved to a home in the 300 block of Richmond Avenue.

Lewis testified that he told Louis multiple times she need to get help for the child, who was Louis’ brother. Lewis denied knowing she spoke to her mother, Tina Louis, who is also the mother of Dewey.

“She never enlightened me (that) she talked to her mother,” Lewis said.

The 4-year-old weighed 19 pounds at death and died from severe malnutrition. A forensic pathologist said the autopsy showed Dewey had nothing in his stomach and his stomach was dry.

Lewis said he was not around when Louis fed the children so he didn’t know the child wasn’t eating.

Burbank asked Lewis about Dewey’s seizures.

“Did that ring a bell or send a flag that this kid was having problems?” Burbank said.

Lewis answered in the affirmative indicating he spoke with his girlfriend about the medical issue.

He said Louis told him the children were her responsibility, not his and it was his fear of having child protective services involved and possibly losing partial custody of his own child that kept him from calling 911 and getting medical help for Dewey.

He also testified he never realized Dewey was on the verge of dying in those days leading up to the death.

On May 31, 2022, as first responders were at the duplex-style home Lewis walked past officers to leave for work.

He didn’t return. He was arrested three weeks later in Houston in an effort between the Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office Warrant Division and the U.S. Marshals.