Suspect in killing of Los Angeles woman was actor

LOS ANGELES (AP) - Los Angeles police say they don’t know whether a “Sons of Anarchy” actor jumped or fell to his death after apparently killing his landlady.

Cmdr. Andrew Smith says the body of 28-year-old Johnny Lewis was found Wednesday morning in the driveway of a hillside home in the Los Feliz area near Hollywood. The body of 81-year-old Catherine Davis was inside. Smith says she may have been beaten and Lewis was the suspect.

Officers went to the home after neighbors reported a woman screaming. They also told officers that a man had jumped a fence, assaulted a painter and homeowner next door and jumped back.

Smith says at some point, Lewis jumped or fell from the home’s roof, garage or patio.

It’s also unclear whether drugs or alcohol are involved.

THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. Check back soon for further information. AP’s earlier story is below.

Johnny Lewis, an actor who played Kip “Half Sack” Epps on the cable TV show “Sons of Anarchy,” has fallen to his death after apparently beating to death his elderly landlady at a hillside home, authorities said.

Coroner’s Watch Cmdr. Larry Deitz said he could not identify Lewis as being the actor. But the name and date of birth match, and both victims lived at the same address.

The causes of their deaths were unknown pending autopsies.

Neighbors called police Wednesday morning to report a woman screaming and three men fighting.

Officers went to a home in the Los Feliz area near Hollywood and found the body of a woman in the driveway, Sgt. Frank Preciado told the Los Angeles Times (http://lat.ms/Or6s0E). Investigators believe she was struck or beaten.

The body of the suspected killer, who may have rented a room from the woman, was found about six feet from a wall, Preciado said.

The man climbed a wall and fought with a housepainter at a neighboring home, returned to the woman’s home and climbed the wall again to fight with the painter and the owner of the second house, Preciado said.

The man apparently fell while trying to scale the wall again, Preciado said.

The men who fought with him were treated at the scene for minor injuries, he said.

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