Krasner hints at possible charges against officer in flawed 2019 Eric Lewis murder probe

Philadelphia District Attorney Larry Krasner suggested Friday that his office could bring charges against a former police officer he has accused of lying during a 2019 homicide investigation. The defendant in that case, Eric Lewis, was acquitted and now stands accused of killing Officer Shane Seiber.

At a news conference, Krasner was asked whether prosecutors had already sought charges against the officer. He recast the question. "I would ask the question differently, which is, will your office pursue charges?" he said, according to CBS Philadelphia and The Philadelphia Inquirer.

Krasner offered no details. He noted that lying to investigators and interfering with a case are both criminal offenses. The Inquirer reported he called the conduct of the officer and a homicide detective "arguably criminal." The paper added that he described talk of potential consequences as hypothetical for now, and that no inquiry has been confirmed.

CBS Philadelphia reported that Lewis, 35, is alleged to have shot two officers on Oct. 10. Seiber died in the West Philadelphia shooting. Officer Hector Rodriguez, struck by 12 bullets, is still in the hospital. Lewis is presumed innocent.

Years earlier, prosecutors accused Lewis of murdering Christopher Williams, 32, in 2019. The Inquirer said that killing followed a road-rage dispute. Common Pleas Court Judge J. Scott O'Keefe acquitted Lewis after a 2023 bench trial.

The Inquirer reported that the judge afterward wrote an unusual letter outlining major flaws in the police work, and referred the officers to the department's Internal Affairs Bureau.

Among the problems the judge listed: two different collections of evidence tied to a single property receipt. He also wrote that the lead detective apparently never examined inconsistencies in an eyewitness's memory of the shooting, failed to hand prosecutors Lewis's subpoenaed social media records, and later conceded she had not gotten a warrant for his phone records.

In a YouTube video released this week, Krasner attributed the acquittal to poor police work and said his prosecutors were not responsible. He accused an officer of fabricating tips pointing to a different gunman. According to the Inquirer, Krasner said the officer was in a relationship with Lewis's sister and falsely named another suspect, nicknamed Spice. Both outlets reported the officer was later dismissed from the force.

Police leaders have not answered Krasner's claims directly. The department said it will speak about the earlier case eventually but is currently concentrating on honoring Seiber.

According to CBS Philadelphia, mourners can pay respects to Seiber Monday evening between 6 and 9 at Givnish Funeral Home. On Tuesday, a viewing will run from 8 to 10:30 a.m. at the Cathedral Basilica of Saints Peter and Paul, followed by his funeral.

Compiled by True News from reporting by CBS Philadelphia and The Philadelphia Inquirer. Each outlet's original story is linked below.

Originally published by True News: https://truenews.bagleyenterprises.net/stories/173