LURAY, Va. — A Nevada police officer has been cleared of wrongdoing in the shooting of a man who now faces murder charges in Page County.
Marcus Lee Lewis was shot by Reno police three months after he was identified as a person of interest in the disappearance of Joshua Dee Bradford, 35.
The Washoe County district attorney’s office recently released a 37-page report concluding that a Reno police officer acted lawfully when he shot and wounded Lewis during a confrontation outside a downtown casino on December 4, 2022.
A disappearance in Page County
Bradford, a native of Anderson, South Carolina, was last seen September 3, 2022, in the Luray area.
His family reported him missing, prompting an investigation by the Page County Sheriff’s Office.
Investigators determined that Bradford had last been seen getting into a blue 2009 Chevrolet Malibu.
Lewis, who was known to operate a vehicle matching that description, was identified as a person of interest.
Authorities said he had connections to Augusta, West Virginia, southwestern Virginia and Warren County.
After investigators attempted to speak with Lewis, he left Page County.
On October 11, 2022, the sheriff’s office obtained a felony warrant charging Lewis with possession of a firearm or ammunition by a convicted felon.
Later that month, the department partnered with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives to offer a $2,500 reward for information leading to his location.
Confrontation with Nevada police
On December 4, 2022, Lewis resurfaced in Reno, Nevada, where police encountered him twice within several hours.
According to the district attorney’s report, the first encounter occurred around 2:18 a.m., when authorities received a report of a man wearing a dark poncho walking along Interstate 80.
Officers located Lewis, but he ignored commands to leave the roadway and jumped over a concrete median into opposing traffic lanes.
Police subsequently lost sight of him.
Around 6 a.m., Reno police received another report involving a barefoot man behaving erratically near North Virginia and East Fifth streets.
Casino security officers reported that the man had run toward them while carrying what appeared to be a knife.
Responding officers located Lewis and repeatedly ordered him to stop and drop the weapon, but he continued walking through downtown Reno.
As officers followed him, Lewis reportedly ran toward an occupied vehicle before moving into the valet area of the Silver Legacy Resort.
Police attempted to subdue Lewis with a Taser, but two attempts had little effect.
Officer Fernando Reza reported seeing Lewis move toward another officer who had fallen to the ground.
A valet attendant also described seeing Lewis swing what appeared to be a knife toward officers before running toward the casino entrance.
Investigators said Lewis approached the casino’s glass entrance doors, where a person was standing immediately inside.
Believing Lewis posed an imminent threat to officers and the public, Reza fired his service weapon at approximately 6:17 a.m.
Lewis was struck and transported to Renown Medical Center for treatment.
He survived the shooting.
Following his hospitalization, Lewis was arrested and prosecuted in Nevada.
A Sparks police detective subsequently contacted Page County Sheriff’s Office Captain Tim Lansberry to notify him that Lewis was in custody.
Convictions in Nevada
On November 1, 2023, a Washoe County jury convicted Lewis of misdemeanor resisting a public officer in connection with the December 2022 confrontation.
He was sentenced to 180 days in the Washoe County Jail, with credit for time served.
While in custody awaiting trial, Lewis was accused of attacking another inmate in April 2023.
He was convicted of battery by a prisoner in February 2024 and sentenced that May to two to five years in prison, to run concurrently with his previous sentence.
Murder charges filed in Page County
Meanwhile, the investigation into Bradford’s disappearance continued in Page County.
On May 6, 2024, investigators received new information about the case and subsequently discovered human remains in an area of the county.
Three days later, the sheriff’s office announced that Lewis had been charged with second-degree murder, defiling a dead body and transporting, concealing or altering a dead body.
However, Lewis remained incarcerated in Nevada, where the criminal proceedings complicated efforts to return him to Virginia.
Page County Chief Deputy Major Stevie Owens previously said substantial time and manpower were necessary to complete the extradition process.
On November 14, 2025, the Page County Sheriff’s Office announced that Lewis had been successfully extradited from Nevada and was in local custody.
Nevada shooting ruled justified
Following an extensive review of the December 2022 shooting, Washoe County District Attorney Chris Hicks determined that Reza’s use of deadly force was lawful under Nevada law.
The findings were based on an investigation conducted by the Sparks Police Department and included witness statements, photographs, body camera footage and a legal analysis of the shooting.
According to the report, officers issued more than 30 verbal commands during the encounter, repeatedly ordering Lewis to stop and drop his weapon.
Investigators concluded that Lewis posed an imminent threat to officers and members of the public because of his possession of a knife, refusal to comply with commands and threatening behavior near the occupied casino.
The report’s release was delayed because of Lewis’ criminal prosecutions in Nevada, including the battery case involving another inmate.
Lewis is next scheduled to appear in Page County Circuit Court in March 2027 for the following charges:
§18.2-32 – Murder in the second degree (Unclassed Felony)
§18.2-126 – Willfully, intentionally, and physically defile a dead human body (Class 6 Felony)
§18.2-323.02 – Transport, secrete, conceal, or alter a dead body (Class 6 Felony)
Bodycam footage of the 2022 Nevada officer-involved shooting is HERE (video is age-restricted by YouTube due to violence).
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