Police: Lewis Took Bus to Florida

PHILADELPHIA - November 5, 2007 (WPVI) -- As investigators scoured Philadelphia neighborhoods looking for him, the suspected killer of Officer Chuck Cassidy hopped a bus for South Florida.

According to investigators, 21-year-old John Lewis purchased a round trip bus ticket in Wilmington, Delaware bound for Miami, Florida on Saturday night. Sources said when he arrived in Miami late Sunday night, he tried to cash the return ticket for cash. Lewis argued with the teller, who refused to refund his money.

Officials said the FBI is searching Miami to try to find Lewis. Philadelphia police asked the FBI to add Lewis to its most wanted list, but so far the FBI has only issued a fugitive alert for Lewis. You can find more on the FBI website by visiting http://www.fbi.gov/wanted/alert/lewis_j.htm.

Investigators recovered two weapons during their search for Lewis on Monday, Commissioner Sylvester Johnson said.

Johnson told reporters during a late Monday afternoon news conference that the weapons were recovered while serving a warrant on an undisclosed location. Sources told Action News reporter Sarah Bloomquist tonight that police positively identified one gun as Cassidy's 9 mm Glock service semiautomatic taken after the shooting. The second gun does not match one owned by Lewis' mother and missing, but tests are still being done to determine if it is the murder weapon.

Sources also told Action News that Lewis appeared in Philadelphia court last Friday for hearing in an unrelated case, but that was more than a day before Lewis was identified as a suspect.

Investigators chased numerous leads on Monday, but some were false alarms. One led to a raid at a motel outside the city from a caller who thought Lewis might be there. It was not him, police said.

Police also seized a vehicle as part of the investigation just before 7:00 Monday morning. It is a blue Mercury Grand Marquis. Police were planning to search the car for evidence linked to Cassidy's murder. Investigators also questioned a person who may have had contact with Lewis.

Johnson identified Lewis as the suspect on Sunday morning.

Sources tell Action News that Lewis, who also goes by the name Jordan Lewis, is a drug addict and that he shot Cassidy with a gun he stole from his mother, who is a prison guard for the city. Police sources said Lewis also confessed to his mother.

"He killed a police officer, he has at least two guns, he is armed and extremely dangerous," Johnson said.

Lewis can be identified by tattoos on his hands that read "N.P." and "H.P." for North Philadelphia and Hunting Park.

He is wanted for killing Cassidy after the officer walked into a Dunkin Donuts during a robbery. Cassidy, 54, died last Thursday, a day after the married father of three was shot in the head.

A round-the-clock manhunt has continued since the officer's shooting, as investigators blanketed the neighborhoods near the crime scene, questioning residents and bringing in about a half dozen people for questioning.

Johnson stressed the importance of capturing Lewis, but he also urged people to use extreme caution.

"You could see on the films that he has no hesitation in shooting a person. If he could shoot a person in uniform just coming into a Dunkin' Donuts, he's liable to shoot anybody," Johnson said, referring to the surveillance video from the Dunkin Donuts.

Anyone with information on Lewis' whereabouts is asked to call 215-686-3334, 35 or 36.

Action News has also learned that Lewis worked at a Dunkin Donuts at Broad and Erie and at another one, part time, at Rising Sun and Roosevelt Boulevard, just a few doors from his mother's house.

Lewis' former co-workers that talked to Action News all said the same thing: they are stunned. He never struck them as the type of person who could kill someone.

"He didn't seem like the type of person that would do anything to nobody," said Tamara Hayes, a former co-worker.

"He was so nice," Kiani Clark said. "He was really nice. He didn't seem like the type that would hurt a fly."

Police say Lewis weighs 270 pounds, has a medium-brown complexion and a scruffy beard, in addition to the tattoos on both arms at the wrist. Police said he is known to frequent the 6500 Block of North 16th Street, the 4400 block of N. Cleveland, 2000 block of North 20th Street and the 7500 block of Frankford Ave.

Meantime, A viewing for family and friends of Officer Cassidy will be held Tuesday night starting at 6:00 at Givnish Funeral Home at 10975 Academy Road. A second viewing for the public will be held at the Basilica of Saints Peter and Paul starting at 7:30 am followed by a mass at noon. Burial will be private at Holy Sepulchure Cemetery in Cheltenham.

The department has established a trust fund for Cassidy's family. (Click here for details)

In a statement Thursday, Cassidy's family said they were "deeply appreciative of all the support and prayers from the police, the clergy, the community and many folks we don't even know."

Officer Cassidy was a veteran with 25 years on the Philadelphia police force.

Cassidy's death marked the second death of a city police officer in 18 months. In May 2006, Officer Gary Skerski was fatally shot in the neck when a man robbing a bar fired a shotgun out the back door. The killer, Solomon Montgomery, pleaded guilty to first-degree murder and was sentenced Tuesday to life in prison.

(Copyright 2007 by Action News and 6abc. All Rights Reserved.)

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