The suspect in the killing of a Philadelphia police officer should not have been acquitted in a previous murder trial, but misconduct involved in that investigation “forced” the judge to find him not guilty, Philadelphia District Attorney Larry Krasner told NBC10.
The district attorney’s comments come after the NBC10 Investigators found that 35-year-old Eric Lewis, who is accused of killing a Philadelphia police officer and wounding another Saturday morning, was prosecuted in a separate 2019 homicide case but was acquitted at trial.
Krasner said Lewis was acquitted after a judge found misconduct in the case, including issues involving the testimony of a former Philadelphia police officer who was reportedly in a relationship with Lewis’s sister.
“We were dealing with a guilty man,” Krasner said.
Court records and police documents obtained by the NBC10 Investigators revealed that Lewis was arrested in 2020 in connection with the August 2019 fatal shooting of 32-year-old Christopher Williams in West Philadelphia, in what Krasner described as a “road rage murder.”
According to an affidavit of probable cause, Williams was driving near Fallon Street and Wyalusing Avenue on Aug. 31, 2019, when he encountered a Nissan SUV that was allegedly blocking the street. Investigators said an argument broke out between Williams and the occupants of the SUV before a man got out, pulled a handgun and opened fire.
Williams was struck multiple times and later died at a hospital, according to court documents. A passenger in the vehicle suffered graze wounds to the leg, the documents state.
A witness later identified Lewis from a photo lineup as the gunman, leading to his arrest in November 2020, court documents show.
According to Krasner, the judge in the murder case had “no choice” but to find Lewis not guilty because of multiple mistakes and misconduct by some detectives and police officers involved in the investigation.
Krasner described some of the misconduct as “criminal.”
“One of them did not do a variety of things that needed to get done and misled people about whether they were done, filled out law enforcement paperwork falsely, stating that certain things had been done and then tried to blame others,” Krasner said.
However, Krasner said the most “outrageous” wrongdoing in the case involved the testimony of former Philadelphia police officer Naeem Crawley, who was reportedly in a relationship with Lewis’s sister.
“He tried to torpedo his participation in the case by making up a huge lie,” Krasner said.
According to Krasner, Crawley falsely claimed to have received information identifying a person named “Spice” as the person who killed Williams. Krasner said that person never existed.
“This officer later admitted to a lawyer that he made it all up and that he had lied to our prosecutor,” Krasner said. “This is how a good case gets sunk.”
Krasner said Crawley was fired following an investigation into his conduct and is fighting to get his job back.
Sgt. Eric Gripp, a spokesperson for the police department, confirmed Crawley separated from the department in September 2025. He said the department was reviewing Crawley’s records before releasing more information.
“Right now, the department remains focused on Officer Shane Seiber’s family, our recovering officer and his family, and supporting our members through this devastating loss,” Gripp said. “We will provide additional information as it is verified and available for release.”
NBC10 reached out to Crawley but has not heard back.
According to officials, Lewis was also charged with assault and gun offenses in another case in 2021, but it never went to trial due to the death of the key witness.
Lewis, a former Philadelphia Water Department employee, is now accused of fatally shooting Philadelphia Police Officer Shane Seiber and wounding a second officer during a confrontation Saturday morning. He faces more than 70 charges in connection with the shooting.
“He should not have been out,” Krasner said. “Those detectives in that case did not do their job, and we are seeing the consequences now.”
Krasner vowed to ensure the new murder case against Lewis does not contain similar errors.
The Defender Association of Philadelphia, which is representing Lewis, does not comment on pending cases. The NBC10 Investigators spoke with Lewis’ previous attorney, who represented him in the 2019 homicide. He had no comment.