Eric Lewis, the man accused of killing a Philadelphia police officer and wounding another, pleaded not guilty in federal court.
Lewis appeared in court on Thursday, Oct. 29, wearing a bright orange jumpsuit with his hands and feet shackled, according to NBC10’s newsgathering partner KYWNewsradio.
Lewis, 35, shot and killed 40-year-old Philadelphia Police Officer Shane Seiber and wounded his partner Officer Hector Rodriguez back on Oct. 10 along the 100 block of North 52nd Street, investigators said. Lewis is also accused of shooting at other responding officers and a SWAT team before he was captured.
Lewis was charged with homicide of a law enforcement officer, murder, attempted homicide of a law enforcement officer and attempted murder by the Philadelphia District Attorney’s Office.
He was then charged with interstate commerce by robbery, discharging a firearm during a crime of violence, possession of a firearm and ammunition by a felon, theft of a firearm that has moved in interstate commerce, possession of a stolen firearm and stolen ammunition by the U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania.
During Thursday’s court appearance, Lewis pleaded not guilty to all of the charges he faces. Officer Seiber’s widow, U.S. Attorney David Metcalf and several law enforcement officials were also inside the courtroom, KYWNewsradio reports.
Lewis will remain in custody as the case continues.
The not guilty plea comes a day after NBC10 obtained documents shedding light on a previous case involving Lewis. Lewis was charged in the 2019 shooting death of Christopher Williams but later acquitted. Philadelphia District Attorney Larry Krasner and Police Commissioner Kevin Bethel have publicly clashed over the handling of the earlier investigation, with Krasner blaming flawed police work for the acquittal.
More than 200 pages of court transcripts obtained by NBC10 reveal investigative issues in the Williams murder case, including questions about cellphone records that were never obtained.
Krasner has pointed to the Philadelphia Police Department’s handling of the investigation as the reason the case ended in an acquittal and also said that an officer involved in the case was dating Lewis’ sister at the time.
But other prosecutors told NBC10 that the district attorney’s office also has a responsibility to identify investigative gaps and address problems while building a case.
