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The plot thickens Police issue arrest warrants for two Lewis friends
Posted: Friday February 11, 2000 09:16 AM
ATLANTA (AP) -- Atlanta police issued arrest warrants Thursday for two associates of Ray Lewis, saying that the Baltimore Ravens linebacker has lied to investigators to protect his friends. Lewis, charged with two counts of murder in the stabbing deaths of two suburban Atlanta men outside a club after a post-Super Bowl party, was an active participant in the fight that led to the killings, Deputy Chief C.B. Jackson said at a news conference. Jackson said police were searching for two men who were with Lewis the night of the killings, Reginald Oakley of Baltimore, 31, and Joseph L. Sweeting of Miami, 34. Both have extensive criminal records and should be considered armed and dangerous. Fulton County District Attorney Paul Howard said he would seek murder indictments against all three men at a grand jury hearing Friday. "We are absolutely confident that we have the perpetrators of the crime," Jackson said. Lewis refused to answer basic questions about the fight that led to the stabbings, Jackson said. Lewis and several men drove away from the scene of the killings in a limousine and he has not told police who was with him. "Ray Lewis has not cooperated at all, other than to provide misleading statements and outright lies," Jackson said. "Sometimes silence speaks volumes," Atlanta Mayor Bill Campbell said. "The perpetrators were literally dripping with blood, and yet not a single occupant, not a single passenger has contacted the police to provide any information about what occurred." Lewis' attorneys' say that he was acting as a peacemaker during the Jan. 31 fight that led to the stabbing deaths of Richard Lollar, 24, and Jacinth Baker, 21, both of Decatur. But Jackson said several witnesses saw Lewis punching Lollar just before he was stabbed. Lewis can be charged with murder if he was involved in the fight, even if someone else stabbed the men. Ed Garland, Lewis' defense attorney, said Thursday that another witness saw Lewis holding people back in an attempt to break up a fight between his associates and the victims. "Ray is not responsible for acts that he didn't know were taking place while he was trying to break up a fight," Garland said in a news conference. Garland said Lewis did not know the criminal histories or the real names of Sweeting and Oakley, whom he called "hangers-on" and "groupies." Jackson said police have the knife that was used to kill both victims. Lewis was with Sweeting and Oakley when one of them bought the knife at a suburban Atlanta sporting goods store, where Lewis was signing autographs in the week before the Super Bowl. Lewis has refused speak to investigators since his first interview before his arrest. In that interview he misled investigators, including saying that former University of Maryland football player A.J. Johnson was one of the men with him the night of the killings, Jackson said. Johnson was not in Atlanta Super Bowl week. "Mr. Lewis has obstructed this investigation," Jackson said. Garland said Lewis was confused about the names of some of the men in the limousine. "He did know one of the men by the name A.J., and under the pressure he was under of that moment, he got the last name wrong," Garland said. "He was being grilled and being treated in a very hostile fashion." Other witnesses who could clear Lewis are afraid to come forward until Oakley and Sweeting are arrested, Garland said. Lewis is a three-time Pro Bowl player who led the NFL in tackles this past season. He played college football at Miami. He is being held without bail pending a hearing scheduled for Monday. If Lewis is indicted Friday, the hearing would be postponed.
Lewis could face life in prison or the death penalty if convicted.
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