Indian-American man dies after being punched in face in Oklahoma, suspect arrested

An Indian-American man was killed in an assault after being punched in the face outside a motel parking lot in Oklahoma on Saturday.  The victim, identified as Hemant Mistry, 59, was the motel manager and originally from Gujarat.

A 59-year-old Indian-American man died in Oklahoma after another man punched him in the face. The incident was reported at nearly 10 pm on June 22, when the police were called to a motel parking lot near Interstate 40 and Meridian Avenue.

The victim, a 59-year-old Gujarati man named Hemant Mistry, was the hotel manager. Mistry had confronted Richard Lewis, 41, asking him to leave the property. In response, Lewis punched Mistry, knocking him unconscious.

Lewis is seen striking Mistry in the CCTV footage of the event, which causes him to fall and get fatal injuries right away. The Oklahoma City Police Department reports that the event happened on Saturday night at roughly 10:00 p.m.

"Police were summoned to a motel parking lot in reference to an assault. Officers arrived and learned 59-year-old Hemant Mistry was in the process of asking 41-year-old Richard Lewis to leave the property. While doing so, Lewis punched Mistry one time, knocking him unconscious,” the Oklahoma police noted in an official release.

Lewis was later found at a hotel in the 1900 block of S Meridian Avenue and arrested.  On June 24, he was held on a $100,000 bond at the Oklahoma County jail on an aggravated assault and battery complaint.