Johnny Lewis
Todd Williamson/WireImage
The 28-year-old Lewis had descended from a promising Hollywood career and glittering social life as boyfriend of Katy Perry to a sordid life of petty crime, money troubles, homelessness and suspected drug abuse and mental illness.
"This officer is very concerned for the well being of not only the community but that of the defendant," his probation officer lamented in the report last May. "The defendant will continue to be a threat to any community he may reside [in]."
Four months later, and just days after he was released from jail, Los Angeles police say Lewis went on a rampage Wednesday morning, killing an 81-year-old woman and then plunging to his own death from a roof or wall in the Los Feliz neighborhood near Hollywood.
The news left Lewis's many friends and costars saddened – though not all were entirely surprised. "i wish i could say that i was shocked by the events last night," wrote Sons of Anarchy creator Kurt Sutter on his WhoSay page. "But i was not."
Reports swirled over what triggered Lewis's final implosion – but with so many problems and pressures, any one of them (or more likely some combination) – could be blamed.
Downward Spiral
At the time of his death, PEOPLE confirms, Lewis had a young child with whom he didn't live, though the details are unclear. His former legal adviser, Wendy Feldman, tells E! News that Lewis was heartbroken over a custody battle concerning the daughter, but she was unable to confirm "what's the truth and what's not."
Feldman did know, however, that "when he spoke of his daughter he spoke of love."
A report on TMZ, citing a source, says that Lewis suffered a psychotic break some months ago after taking an undisclosed drug and never fully recovered. Doctors had reportedly been trying to stabilize Lewis, but the actor, who had been convicted of several violent crimes already this year, is suspected of going off his medication, according to TMZ.
According to court records, the actor pleaded no contest on Aug. 8 to assault with a deadly weapon and then on Aug. 17 he pleaded no contest to burglary in the attempted break-in of the woman's house.
He was sentenced to a year in jail in the two cases but given hundreds of days credit for time already served and good behavior. He walked out of a San Fernando Valley jail at 4:05 p.m. on Sept. 21, according to the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department.
Five days later, police responding to a 911 call about a woman screaming found the bodies of Lewis and Catherine Davis, along with the ravaged remains of a cat.
Lewis, who had played Kip "Half-Sack" Epps on the FX's Sons of Anarchy, was quickly mourned on social media by his costars on the FX show as well as those who had worked with him on other projects.
Johnny Lewis on The O.C. in 2005
Everett
Kayla Ewell, who appeared on The O.C. with Lewis, wrote on Twitter, "The Johnny Lewis I knew was a charismatic, captivating guy. Let's remember the good times. RIP."
But as dozens of pages of probation and court records show, those days had long since passed.
Lewis, one probation report says, claimed to be struggling on $20,000 a year in recent years "as a self-employed actor," and in March was living with his parents in an apartment in Northridge where he "does not contribute monthly towards the rent."
By May, another probation report described him as potential public menace, citing "some form of chemical dependency, mental health issue and a lack of permanent housing."
"This probation officer believes that a mental health evaluation should be performed in order to protect the community," the report says. "This officer is very concerned for the future safety of the community."
• Reporting by AILI NAHAS and HOWARD BREUER
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