The man charged with killing a Philadelphia police officer in a deadly ambush over the weekend has a criminal record that includes a prior murder accusation, but the city’s top prosecutor said faulty casework by detectives prevented them from locking him up sooner.
Authorities said they arrested Eric Lewis in connection with the wild shooting early Saturday that claimed the life of Officer Shane Seiber and left another officer injured. The second officer remains in stable condition.
Police said Mr. Lewis, 35, then opened fire on several responding officers as he tried to flee. He was taken into custody on charges of murder, homicide of a law enforcement officer, and attempted murder in the mayhem that killed Officer Seiber, a 10-year veteran of the force.
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“Police officer Shane Seiber paid the ultimate price while sacrificing his own life to protect and serve our city,” Mayor Cherelle Parker said Saturday. “Because of his noble and courageous and valiant choice to serve, a 40-year-old servant leader of our Philadelphia village is gone too soon. A wife is now without her husband. Two babies are without their father.”
Philadelphia District Attorney Larry Krasner said the alleged gunman should have been locked up years earlier after he was linked to a deadly 2019 road rage killing.
Police said Mr. Lewis was double-parked outside his mother’s home when victim Christopher Williams honked his horn to get the suspect to move.
The two began jawing back and forth, police said, and Mr. Lewis soon got out of his car, approached Williams and shot him dead. A witness inside Williams’ car later identified Mr. Lewis as the trigger-puller.
But Mr. Krasner said the case was torpedoed by an officer who made up a fictional suspect named “Spice” who killed Williams. The top prosecutor said the officer was motivated to do this because he was in a relationship with Mr. Lewis’ sister.
Mr. Lewis was found not guilty at trial, but Mr. Krasner said the judge spoke with prosecutors and defense attorneys after court adjourned.
“Right after he was forced to say ’not guilty,’ he called everyone in the back. He specifically said that the district attorneys had done everything that they could do, but he was so outraged, and the outrage, I think, comes from the fact that he knew that, but for all these problems, we were dealing with a guilty man,” Mr. Krasner told Philadelphia’s WCAU-TV.
Law enforcement officials told another Philadelphia station, WPVI-TV, that the officer who tried to introduce bogus information was former police officer Naeem Crawley.
Philadelphia police brass fired Mr. Crawley after an internal investigation.
Mr. Krasner did not explain why he didn’t pursue criminal charges against Mr. Crawley, despite telling local news outlets in recent days that the former officer’s conduct was criminal.
Mr. Lewis, the suspected gunman, was previously charged with drug, assault, theft and gun violations in a 2012 incident, although the outcome of that case is uncertain.
The defendant was also arrested on assault and weapons charges in a 2011 incident, but police said the case was dropped when the victim died from other causes.
Mr. Lewis will return to court Oct. 26.
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