Philadelphia District Attorney Larry Krasner says investigative misconduct helped lead to the acquittal of Eric Lewis in a 2019 homicide case, years before Lewis was accused of killing Philadelphia Police Officer Shane Seiber and wounding another officer. Lewis, 35, was acquitted in the earlier case after a judge found misconduct by detectives and police officers, Krasner told NBC10. The district attorney said the judge had no choice but to find Lewis not guilty because of failures in the investigation and problems with testimony from former Officer Naeem Crawley. Lewis was arrested in 2020 in connection with the fatal shooting of 32-year-old Christopher Williams in West Philadelphia. 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 allegedly blocking the street. An argument followed, investigators said, and a man got out of the SUV and fired a handgun. Williams was shot multiple times and died at a hospital; a passenger was grazed in the leg, court documents say. A witness later identified Lewis as the shooter in a photo lineup, according to court records. Krasner described the killing as a road-rage murder but said the case was derailed by misconduct, including false statements in law-enforcement paperwork and claims that investigative steps had been completed when they had not. Krasner said the most serious issue involved Crawley, who was reportedly in a relationship with Lewis’ sister. The DA said Crawley falsely claimed that a person known as “Spice” had been identified as Williams’ killer, and later admitted to a lawyer that he had invented the information and lied to a prosecutor. Krasner called the conduct “criminal” and said Crawley was fired after an investigation. Police spokesperson Sgt. Eric Gripp confirmed Crawley left the department in September 2025. The department was reviewing Crawley’s records before releasing further information, Gripp said, adding that officials were focused on Seiber’s family, the recovering officer and that officer’s family, and department members. Lewis was also charged in 2021 with assault and gun offenses in a separate case, but it did not go to trial because the key witness died, according to the report. Lewis, a former Philadelphia Water Department employee, now faces more than 70 charges related to the Saturday morning shooting that killed Seiber and wounded another officer. Krasner said he would work to ensure the new case does not repeat the failures of the earlier investigation. The Defender Association of Philadelphia, which represents Lewis, declined to comment on the pending case.