Philadelphia water employee charged with killing officer has prior convictions
Eric Lewis, a city water department employee, faces 76 charges after a shooting that killed Officer Shane Seiber and injured another officer, and court records show he has previous weapons, theft and disorderly conduct convictions.
Eric Lewis, a 35-year-old employee of the Philadelphia Water Department, was arraigned on Oct. 11 on 76 criminal counts stemming from a shooting that struck 11 police officers in West Philadelphia shortly after midnight on Saturday. The indictment includes homicide of a law-enforcement officer for the death of 40-year-old Officer Shane Seiber, ten counts of attempted homicide, attempted murder, terroristic threats and related offenses. Lewis was denied bail, and his next court appearance is scheduled for Oct. 26, 2026.
Court documents reveal that Lewis has prior convictions. In 2012 he was found guilty of theft by unlawful taking and receiving stolen property, offenses that were reduced to misdemeanors and resulted in up to two years of probation. The following year he faced three misdemeanor charges—carrying a firearm in public, possessing an instrument of a crime with intent, and simple assault—and received a sentence of three to five years of probation in 2015. In 2018 he pleaded guilty to disorderly conduct and a fight, earning a maximum of 12 months of probation.
Officer Seiber, a 10-year veteran of the Philadelphia Police Department and former Air Force service member who was stationed at Dover Air Force Base from 2007 to 2015, was identified as a married father of two children, a 7-year-old son and a 3-year-old daughter.