US News

Strip club worker fired for posing as relative of teen who died on ride: report

A woman who had claimed to be the cousin of the 14-year-old boy who died after falling from a Florida amusement park ride is not related to the family — and has been fired from a strip joint for her deception, according to reports.

The woman, who called herself “Shay Johnson” in interviews with multiple news outlets, purported to be the cousin of Tyre Sampson, who died after slipping out of his seat on the FreeFall ride at ICON Park in Orlando.

She told a local station that she wanted the ride to be permanently shut down as she collected signatures for a petition and led a vigil for the Missouri teen outside the tragic attraction.

A woman who had been going by the name Shay Johnson was fired from her job at a strip club after it was revealed that she was posing as a cousin of the boy who fell off an amusement park ride in Orlando. Orange County Sheriff's Departme

“We want justice,” she said, the Orlando Sentinel reported.

But doubts about her identity soon emerged, leading to investigations by the Sentinel and WFTV.

Her real name is Lewishena Lavonia Browning, 32, an Orlando resident with a lengthy rap sheet, the paper reported.

She has been fired from her gig at Flash Dancers, an adult entertainment club in the city, the outlet reported.

Shay Johnson holds signs under the ride where Tyre Sampson died at the Orlando Free Fall drop tower ride at ICON Park in Orlando on March 29, 2022. Stephen M. Dowell/Orlando Sentinel via AP

“I feel terrible about it,” the jiggle joint’s owner William Sierer told the Sentinel, saying the woman goes by “Shay” but that the club has her real name on file.

He called Browning’s actions “unconscionable.”

The Orange County Sheriff’s Office confirmed to the paper that detectives have “looked into” the woman and that Tyre’s mother told them “she does not know who Shay Johnson is.”

Shay Johnson receives a hug at a memorial site outside the Orlando Free Fall drop tower ride at ICON Park in Orlando on March 29, 2022. Stephen M. Dowell/Orlando Sentinel via AP

Agency spokeswoman Michelle Guido said investigators had no evidence that any crimes were committed.

Browning has a checkered past, according to the Sentinel, which has been unable to reach her after the number she gave the outlet has been disconnected.

She is awaiting trial on felony arson and criminal mischief charges for allegedly setting a car on fire in August, according to court records cited by the paper.  

Shay Johnson was fired from the strip club after her boss said her actions were “unconscionable.” Orange County Sheriff's Departme

Orlando police responded to an apartment complex on Raleigh Street after getting a call from Browning’s ex-boyfriend, who said he’d parked his girlfriend’s car in the parking lot and then found it on fire, the Sentinel said.

The man said Browning was likely responsible for torching the vehicle because they had been “having ongoing problems” since breaking up, according to an affidavit cited by the paper.

Her ex also was listed as the victim in two other cases against Browning that involved vandalism and criminal mischief, the Sentinel added.

Browning claimed to police that she had been in Daytona Beach on the night of the fire with her mother and brother — but police Lt. Aaron Stover reportedly said in the affidavit that a search of her phone found evidence to the contrary.

She allegedly Googled the girlfriend’s address as well as “what is the best thing to set a car on fire lighter fluid gas,” according to the Sentinel, which reported that police found images of Browning’s “burnt and blistered” legs while treated at a hospital.

The woman reportedly claimed she was burned while crawling out of a burning car after a crash.

Browning has reportedly filed recent petitions in Orange County Circuit Court against her ex and his girlfriend, alleging repeat violence — and the couple accused her of the same.

She has been jailed several times in Orange County, including on charges of domestic violence and driving with a suspended or revoked license, the Sentinel reported.

In April 2020. she provided a false name and ID to a police officer who pulled her over, according to an arrest report cited by the paper.

Shay Johnson claimed she was the cousin of Tyre Sampson, who tragically fell to his death on an amusement park ride. Facebook/Vanessa Rivera

During a vigil for Tyre on March 28, she claimed she had spoken to her cousin the day he died.

“He said he wanted to ride the swing on International,” she said, identifying herself as Shay Johnson, mynews13.com reported. “I said, ‘OK. Ride it twice and ride it for me, too.’”

Browning also claimed she gave him money for the rides.

Tyre Sampson moments before he plunged to his death on the Orlando Free Fall ride. Facebook
A photo of Tyre Sampson at a memorial site outside the Orlando Free Fall drop tower ride at ICON Park in Orlando. Stephen M. Dowell/Orlando Sentinel via AP

“So I went back to my job, and I got him some money and I brought him back out,” she told reporters.

But Sierer, her boss at Flash Dancers, told the outlet that she had never left work on the day of the tragedy — and also showed up to work the next two days without saying anything about her supposed cousin’s death.

“We were as surprised as anyone else,” Sierer told mynews13.com.

The Orlando Free Fall drop tower in ICON Park where Tyre Sampson fell to his death. Stephen M. Dowell/Orlando Sentinel via AP

“Again, her working Thursday and Friday, then Saturday we see it on the news. We knew immediately it was fraudulent. … For her to go on national TV and claim that she’s related to someone just to better herself, it just crossed the line and I felt really horrible for the family,” he said.