01/12/2008 Accused killer to stand trial in officer's slaying

As additional witnesses placed John "Jordan" Lewis at the scene of Police Officer Chuck Cassidy 's fatal shooting, the defendant's cousin and a family friend testified yesterday that the alleged gunman confessed to the crime and threatened to kill more police.

The testimony highlighted a two-day preliminary hearing that ended with Municipal Court Judge Francis P. Cosgrove ordering Lewis to stand trial in the death of Cassidy as well as a string of robberies before the deadly Oct. 31 stickup of the Dunkin' Donuts store at 6620 N. Broad St.

Defense attorney Michael Coard indicated that he would be willing to negotiate a plea, but Assistant District Attorney Ed Cameron said he would proceed with the filing of a notice to seek the death penalty.

Cassidy 's family said through Tony Conti, the officer's brother-in-law, that sitting through the two days of hearings had been painful, but that the family members were grateful to have it behind them and for the support they received from around the city.

In yesterday's testimony, two employees and a customer identified Lewis as the gunman who came to rob the doughnut shop on the morning of Oct. 31.

Only one - employee Linda Chan - testified that she saw Lewis, 21, shoot Cassidy , 54.

"I saw the officer fall down," she said, prompting tears from some in a courtroom packed with police officers and relatives of the victim, including his wife, Judith, and their three children.

After their testimony, Hakim Glover and Lewis, his cousin - both wearing prison-issued shirts - saw each other for the first time since Glover put the accused killer on a bus to Florida on Nov. 3.

Glover told the court that he was summoned to Lewis' mother's home on Roosevelt Boulevard that day, and found his aunt and her daughters crying.

Lewis, who also was there, admitted shooting Cassidy and pulled two guns - one the officer's service pistol - from his waist, Glover said.

"He said, 'These are the guns right here,' " said Glover, who pleaded guilty on Monday to helping his cousin flee.

He said he and Lewis met later at Glover's sister's house on North Franklin Street.

"He wasn't in his right mind. He wanted to do something bad," said Glover. "He said he was going to kill another cop. "

Glover said he suggested that Lewis instead go to Miami, where Glover's sister lived, and that he would help him get there if he left the guns behind.

After Lewis hid the weapons in a drop ceiling in the house, Glover drove him to Wilmington, where he bought a ticket for $230 in his own name and gave it to his cousin.

"I didn't want him to do something else," he said.

Under cross-examination by Coard, Glover said he did not go to the police "because I don't go to the police. "

Once arrested, however, he decided to cooperate because "I'm not going to jail for something that happened while I was lying in my bed. "

Hours after testifying, Glover appeared in another courtroom at the Criminal Justice Center, where Common Pleas Court Judge Benjamin Lerner reduced his bail from $1,000,000 to $250,000.

He said that Glover could sign for the bail but that he would have to wear an ankle monitor under house arrest. The only reason he would be allowed to leave the house is to go to work if he gets a job, said Lerner, who is scheduled to sentence Glover on Feb. 27.

Glover's testimony was echoed in part by Herbert Hill, a corrections officer who works with Lewis' mother.

He, too, arrived Nov. 3 at the Roosevelt Boulevard house to find the women inside crying and Lewis standing silent.

"I shot the cop," Hill quoted Lewis as saying.

"If you did that, you know you've got to turn yourself in," he said he replied.

"If the police come and get me, it's going to be a mess," Lewis allegedly answered.

Hill said he then decided to leave the house and called 911 when he got to Rising Sun Avenue. Police met him there and took him to police headquarters.

It also was disclosed yesterday that Cassidy 's family donated his organs after he died Nov. 1.

Cosgrove set Lewis' arraignment for Jan. 31.

Contact staff writer Joseph Gambardello at 215-854-2153 or jgambardello@phillynews.com.

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Watch video of John Lewis' lawyer and of the Cassidy family at http://go.philly.com/officercassidy