A Philadelphia man acquitted of murder in 2023 after prosecutors failed to introduce potentially important evidence is now accused of fatally shooting a police officer.
Eric Lewis, 35, allegedly killed Shane Seiber, a 10-year Philadelphia Police Department veteran, during a Saturday morning shooting. Seiber was struck three times and died, while his partner survived 12 gunshot wounds and remains in stable condition, officials said.
Philadelphia District Attorney Larry Krasner said his office intends to file dozens of charges against Lewis.
The announcement comes about three years after Krasner’s office failed to present evidence that may have been critical in the murder prosecution of 32-year-old Christopher Williams.
Lewis, who has a significant criminal record, was charged in connection with Williams’ August 2019 killing and faced the possibility of spending decades behind bars.
On August 31, 2019, Williams was leaving his mother’s home in a Jeep when a double-parked Nissan blocked his path, his mother, Darlene Brown, told The Philadelphia Inquirer.
Brown said her son sounded the Jeep’s horn and argued with people inside the Nissan. Prosecutors alleged that Lewis then drew a gun and fired into the vehicle, killing Williams.
According to a source cited by the Inquirer, a 15th District police officer identified Lewis as the shooter but never testified for reasons that remain unknown. A friend of Williams who was inside the Jeep also identified Lewis and did appear as a witness.
Eric Lewis, 35, allegedly killed Shane Seiber, a 10-year Philadelphia police veteran, on Saturday morning. Lewis had previously faced charges in Christopher Williams’ murder but was acquitted in 2023
Philadelphia police officer Shane Seiber (pictured), 40, died after being shot while responding early Saturday to reports of an armed man on a porch
Brown said prosecutors also showed jurors surveillance footage of a Nissan believed to be Lewis’s vehicle traveling through the area before the shooting.
However, prosecutors did not introduce cellphone location data connected to Lewis. A source told the Inquirer it was unclear whether investigators had obtained or even examined those records.
Judge J. Scott O’Keefe determined that the prosecution had not established Lewis’s guilt beyond a reasonable doubt and found him not guilty.
After the trial, O’Keefe reportedly criticized the investigation and reached out to the Police Department’s Internal Affairs Unit, according to sources who spoke with the outlet.
Brown told the Inquirer that the case changed hands among at least two prosecutors and that the assistant district attorney appeared unprepared or passive during the proceedings.
She said the prosecutor later apologized but never explained how Lewis was able to leave court a free man.
Brown described the acquittal as devastating, saying the latest news coverage featuring Lewis brought back the pain of her son’s death.
‘They had him in 2023,’ she told the Inquirer. ‘They freed that murderer, and it took him three years to come back and do it again.’
The latest alleged attack began shortly after midnight Saturday, when officers were sent to the 100 block of North 52nd Street in West Philadelphia. Police had received reports of an armed man standing on a porch.
About half an hour later, Seiber and his 33-year-old partner arrived at the home. Within moments, both officers came under a barrage of gunfire.
Christopher Williams, 32, died on August 31, 2019, after he was shot in his mother’s driveway
District Attorney Larry Krasner said his office would pursue dozens of charges against Lewis. Krasner was among a wave of progressive prosecutors whose campaigns received financial backing from billionaire George Soros
As additional officers rushed to the scene, Lewis allegedly fled down a nearby alleyway, firing at police before temporarily disappearing from view.
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His escape sparked a massive manhunt, with SWAT teams deployed and the surrounding neighborhood placed on lockdown.
He was eventually found hiding in a tree at around 3.30am, having apparently climbed up in an attempt to evade capture.
Police took Lewis into custody and recovered a shotgun and two handguns, including a weapon belonging to one of the officers he had shot.
Seiber and his partner were taken to Penn Presbyterian Medical Center in critical condition and rushed into emergency surgery, but Seiber tragically succumbed to his injuries.
‘Today, police officer Shane Seiber paid the ultimate price while sacrificing his own life to protect and serve our city,’ Mayor Cherelle Parker said during Saturday’s news conference.
‘Because of his noble, and courageous and valiant choice to serve, a 40-year-old servant leader of our Philadelphia village is gone too soon. A wife is now without her husband. Two babies are without their father,’ she added.
‘Their families right now are feeling unspeakable pain but watching this department and those families sticking close together as a village has definitely showed me what the indomitable power of the human spirit is and can mean during times like this.’
Lewis was charged with homicide of a law enforcement officer and murder in Seiber’s death, along with 10 counts of attempted homicide of a law enforcement officer, attempted murder and other related offenses.
Lewis was charged with homicide of a law enforcement officer and murder in Seiber’s death, along with 10 counts of attempted homicide of a law enforcement officer, attempted murder and other related offenses
Seiber had been shot three times. He died at the hospital surrounded by his wife and family, leaving behind a seven-year-old son and three-year-old daughter (all pictured)
Seiber’s partner, a father of five, survived after being shot 12 times and is now in stable condition
Court records reveal Lewis has a criminal history stretching back to 2012. In 2015, he admitted guilt to weapons offenses stemming from an incident two years earlier, including carrying a firearm in public.
He received five years of probation and was ordered to undergo drug and alcohol assessments and a mental health evaluation.
Lewis was arraigned on October 11 and ordered held without bail. His preliminary hearing is scheduled for October 26.
Krasner was among a wave of progressive prosecutors whose campaigns received financial backing from billionaire George Soros.
His campaign received $1.3 million through Soros-backed political action committees, with the funding accounting for more than 90 percent of his fundraising total in 2017.
He has served as Philadelphia’s district attorney since 2018, overseeing a city that recorded a staggering 562 homicides in 2021.
However, killings have since fallen dramatically, dropping to 222 in 2025, with another 136 recorded so far this year as of October 12, according to Philadelphia Police Department data.
Critics have pointed to his emphasis on declining to prosecute certain types of offenses.
Lewis was charged with homicide of a law enforcement officer and murder in Seiber’s death, along with 10 counts of attempted homicide of a law enforcement officer, attempted murder and other related offenses.
Krasner said he will be held without bail, with a preliminary arraignment and bail hearing expected to take place ‘in the near future.’
Our News Outlet has reached out to the Philadelphia District Attorney’s Office and the Philadelphia Police Department for comment.
