Judicial process delayed
for suspect in slaying

By William Kenny
Times Staff Writer

The man accused of killing Police Officer Charles E. "Chuck" Cassidy has publicly admitted to committing the crime. On Wednesday morning, the process of determining his legal fate was to begin, but it will have to wait.
The preliminary hearing for 21-year-old John Lewis, a.k.a. Jordan Lewis, was scheduled to be held that morning in a Criminal Justice Center courtroom, but it was postponed at the last minute. Lewis is charged with murder, robbery and related offenses in connection with the Oct. 31 fatal shooting of Cassidy at a West Oak Lane doughnut shop.
The new date of the hearing was pending as the Times went to press this week. Meanwhile, District Attorney Lynne Abraham had yet to announce whether her office would seek the death penalty in the case.
Lewis allegedly tried to rob the Dunkin’ Donuts at Broad Street and 66th Avenue and shot Cassidy in the head as the on-duty uniformed cop walked through the front door of the shop.
The merciless nature of the killing, Lewis’ brazen appearance in court two days later for an unrelated drug case and the alleged gunman’s subsequent flight to Miami seemed to belie his remorseful public comments following his Nov. 6 capture.
While being escorted in handcuffs outside of a Miami-Dade County police station, Lewis was recorded telling reporters that he shot Cassidy, 54, a married father of three and 25-year police veteran.
"I apologize to (the officer’s) family," Lewis said. "I never meant nothing to happen like this, you know. But I can’t change it."
The suspect’s capture inside a Miami homeless shelter offered some solace to those attending Cassidy’s funeral the following morning.
"The only consolation we have is the person who caused (Cassidy’s) death is in custody," Philadelphia Police Commissioner Sylvester Johnson said.
"It was relief for the family, a little bit of closure that he was caught before the funeral," said York, Pa., police officer Mike Davis, a Philadelphia native whose parents are close friends with the Cassidys.
Philadelphia police investigators who had traveled to Florida to interrogate Lewis brought him back to the city last Friday on a commercial passenger flight. The local cops used Cassidy’s handcuffs to shackle the suspect. Lewis did not fight extradition to Pennsylvania.
Once back in Philadelphia, officers used a police wagon from the 35th district, Cassidy’s unit, to transport Lewis to Police Headquarters.
Lewis was arraigned early Saturday morning and ordered held without bail. By Pennsylvania law, defendants charged with a capital offense are ineligible for bail.
The suspect has had past dealings with Philadelphia’s court system. Since turning 18, Lewis has been arrested twice on drug charges and once for theft. One of the drug cases and the theft case were dismissed after Lewis completed a rehabilitative program for non-violent offenders.
Lewis’ second drug case, stemming from an arrest last June, was active at the time of the Cassidy shooting. Lewis appeared for a status hearing in that case on Nov. 2 — two days after the Cassidy shooting and one day before authorities named Lewis as the murder suspect.
Although Lewis likely crossed paths with countless police officers on his way to and from the courtroom, nobody recognized him as the possible killer, since there was little more than a physical description and images from a blurry surveillance tape to identify the suspect at the time.
Local authorities have arrested two additional men in the case on charges that they hindered the murder investigation and capture of Lewis.
After authorities named Lewis as the suspect, his cousin, Hakim Glover, drove Lewis to Delaware and bought him a bus ticket for Miami, authorities claim. Also, police say, they found two guns linked to the shooting inside Glover’s Hunting Park home. One is the alleged murder weapon and the other is Cassidy’s service pistol, which Lewis allegedly stole from the fatally wounded officer.
Glover, 24, of the 3800 block of N. Franklin St., is charged with obstructing justice and harboring a fugitive. He is being held in lieu of $1 million bail and was scheduled for a preliminary hearing on Wednesday.
Meanwhile, Shawn Williams, 25, of the 5700 block of Ogontz Ave., had nothing to do with Cassidy’s shooting. But he said he did.
Williams allegedly told an ex-girlfriend that he drove a man he knew to the doughnut shop and that the person shot the police officer. The ex-girlfriend then told the story to authorities, including the name of the supposed shooter. When questioned by detectives, Williams allegedly repeated his claims.
After determining that the man identified by Williams was not the gunman, detectives arrested Williams for obstructing justice and filing false reports. He is being held in lieu of $100,000 bail and is scheduled for a Dec. 13 preliminary hearing. ••