The hunt for the killer of Officer Chuck Cassidy took on new urgency last night after investigators said the prime suspect boarded a bus this weekend for Miami and police recovered the dead officer's stolen gun in Hunting Park.

Law enforcement officials said they believe John Lewis, 21, boarded a bus for Florida on Saturday night, only hours after police received a tip identifying him as the triggerman in Wednesday's slaying of Cassidy .

Florida officials have been alerted, and homicide detectives were to fly to Miami this morning. Police Commissioner Sylvester M. Johnson said police have asked the FBI to add Lewis to its "Ten Most Wanted" list.

Law enforcement officials said a relative, called in for questioning, admitted purchasing a bus ticket for Lewis on Saturday. They believe Lewis would have arrived in Florida late Sunday.

The rapidly expanding investigation leaped forward yesterday afternoon when police recovered two handguns that they say link Lewis to the murder.

One was the officer's 9mm Glock semiautomatic, stolen immediately after he was gunned down. The second firearm may be the murder weapon. Analysts were conducting a ballistics test on it last night.

Both handguns were taken from a house in the 3800 block of North Franklin Street, the residence of an associate of Lewis'.

The recovery of two handguns added weight to the evidence against Lewis. Johnson said there was "no doubt" that investigators were looking for the right man.

Before he fled, Lewis told family members he would not surrender, according to a federal warrant issued for his arrest early Sunday. "Lewis expressed a desire not to be captured," the warrant stated.

The affidavit also stated that Lewis confessed to his family.

Cassidy , 54, was shot Wednesday morning after he interrupted an armed robbery at a Dunkin' Donuts in West Oak Lane. Police said the surprised assailant wheeled and shot Cassidy in the head from five feet away.

A law enforcement source said last night that the second handgun recovered yesterday was not the firearm reported missing by Lewis' mother, Lynn Dyches, a corrections officer in the Philadelphia Prison System. Police initially suspected that her gun might have been used in the murder.

Reached by telephone last night, Dyches complained that the police and the media were distorting the image of her son. "I don't want no more negative stuff out there," she said. "Everything the news media is playing out now is a lie. They say he had a record, and all he was doing was smoking marijuana, for which he did community service. Everything they're putting on TV is a lie. "

The introduction of perhaps a third handgun into the equation raised the prospect that the suspect might still be armed.

"Even though there's two weapons recovered, we're saying this man is still considered very dangerous," said Johnson.

Lewis is described as 6 feet tall and weighing 270 pounds, a black man with a medium complexion, short cropped hair, and scruffy facial hair. From a surveillance video of the killing, he appears to have a lumbering gait.

Police said Lewis has two tattoos: the initials "HP," for Hunting Park, on his right hand, and "NP," for North Philly, on his left. The suspect does not have a spider-web tattoo, as authorities initially announced.

"We know exactly who we're looking for, which is a positive thing," Johnson said at an impromptu briefing outside Police Headquarters. "Now, our next step is to apprehend him. "

Authorities urged Lewis, an Olney High School dropout who is known to frequent North Philadelphia and the Lower Northeast, and who also goes by the name "Jordan Lewis" and sometimes uses "Jordan" as his last name, to surrender.

"We're appealing to this man to turn himself in at the earliest possible time," Homicide Inspector Joseph Mooney said. "It's better for him, it's better for everyone else in the public and police officers out there. "

Investigators yesterday carried out numerous searches based upon the flood of information.

Police earlier suspected that Lewis used his mother's pistol to kill Cassidy . She told police she discovered the 9mm semiautomatic handgun was missing on Saturday only after detectives questioned her about her son's alleged involvement in the officer's killing.

But police said neither gun recovered yesterday matched the description of the mother's pistol.

Lewis, who attended Olney High School only a few blocks from his mother's house on Roosevelt Boulevard, was charged in 2005 with possession of drugs and possession with intent to distribute. He was placed in a treatment program, which he completed in February.

Four months later, Lewis was arrested again on drug charges. That case is pending. Lewis had a scheduled court appearance on Friday.

The unmarried Lewis has two younger sisters and a 3-month-old daughter, Natasha, according to his family.

Earlier this year, Lewis worked at two other Dunkin' Donuts locations - at Germantown and Erie Avenues, and on Roosevelt Boulevard near Rising Sun Avenue.

"He was nice," said Kiani Clark, 20, a cashier at the Boulevard location.

"He was polite. He was happy he had just had a baby," she said while ringing up customers.

"We were all in shock," said Megan Chin, the manager.

Lewis was let go a few months ago for unspecified reasons, said Sofia Gonzalez, 23, a coworker who said she has known Lewis since they were schoolmates at Olney High School.

"I believe it was money problems that pushed him over the edge," said Gonzalez, who said she did not think he would stage an armed robbery at another Dunkin' Donuts out of spite.

"He wasn't the type to hold a grudge like that," she said. "He just had issues. "

And in the alleys near the Roosevelt Boulevard home of Lewis' grandmother Vernetha Glover Henry, plainclothes detectives scoured the grounds while the suspect's relatives congregated outside and professed the young man's innocence.

"The cops have the wrong person," said Chantelle Bennett, a cousin who complained that the news of the arrest warrant had harmed Glover Henry's day-care business.

Lewis sometimes spent time with the children, Bennett said.

Janice Torrence Glover, 17, an aunt to Lewis, speculated that maybe he should not surrender. He has been convicted in the public's eye, she said, and "it could be dangerous for him. "

She doubted that he killed the police officer. "He's too goofy to pull the trigger," she said.

Adding Lewis to the FBI's "Ten Most Wanted" list would give "the case more national prominence and involve the FBI's national resources," said agency spokeswoman Jerri Williams.

Contact staff writer Andrew Maykuth at 215-854-2947 or amaykuth@phillynews.com.

Contributing to this report were Inquirer staff writers Joseph A. Gambardello, Joseph A. Slobodzian and Dwight Ott.

Services for Officer Chuck Cassidy

Family and friends of Officer Chuck Cassidy may call from 6 to 9 p.m. today at the John F. Givnish Funeral Home, 10975 Academy Rd. in Northeast Philadelphia.

Overflow parking will be available at Archbishop Ryan High School, 11201 Academy Rd., and shuttle transportation will be provided by the Police Department.

A viewing will begin at 7:30 a.m. tomorrow at the Cathedral Basilica of SS. Peter and Paul in Center City, where a Funeral Mass will be said at noon.

Burial will follow at Holy Sepulchre Cemetery in Cheltenham.

philly.com

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