Police search home of Ray Lewis

ATLANTA (AP) -- Police searched Ray Lewis' home in suburban Baltimore on Monday, but would not disclose what they were looking for or what they found in connection with the murder charges facing the

Monday, February 7th 2000, 12:00 am

By: News On 6

ATLANTA (AP) -- Police searched Ray Lewis' home in suburban Baltimore on Monday, but would not disclose what they were looking for or what they found in connection with the murder charges facing the NFL star. Officers could be seen carrying large plastic containers from the home and loading a computer into a van.

Atlanta police spokesman John Quigley confirmed a search warrant was executed, but he would not elaborate on the search by Atlanta and Baltimore County police. While police sought clues in Lewis' home, his lawyer said all the passengers in the limousine that fled the scene of the two fatal stabbings contend his client was not part of the post-Super Bowl brawl.

Don Samuel told The Associated Press on Monday that he and other defense lawyers and investigators have interviewed all six men, including Lewis. "We're all hearing one voice -- Ray was not involved in knifing anybody or attacking anybody," Samuel said. "We have not interviewed the driver, but everyone else says Ray wasn't the one."

The Sun in Baltimore reported Monday that 51-year-old limo driver Duane Fassett told police that Lewis threw at least one punch in the fight that resulted in the two deaths. The affidavit police used to obtain the arrest warrant against Lewis cited an unidentified witness who said Lewis participated in the "punching, beating, and stabbing" of the two men. The Baltimore Ravens player is in Atlanta Detention Center on murder charges stemming from the deaths of Jacinth "Shorty" Baker, 21, and Richard Lollar, 24, both of Decatur.

Samuel said interviews have not shed light on who actually stabbed the two men. He would not release the names of the other limo passengers. Atlanta police have said they want to interview two men thought to have been in the limo -- former University of Maryland football player A.J. Johnson and Kwame King, a friend of Lewis.

Johnson, who says he was at home in Laurel, Md., during the Super Bowl weekend, said Sunday that Atlanta investigators had interviewed him. Samuel said the defense team has interviewed more than 30 people, and accounts as to what happen vary wildly. "We've heard everything from it was a war zone and there was fighting everywhere to that there were four total involved, including the two victims," Samuel said.

Atlanta television station WSB-TV reported Monday that investigators Monday also visited The Sports Authority location in Duluth where Lewis held an autograph session the day before the Super Bowl. The store sells hunting knives, and previously published reports have said that receipts for knives were found in Lewis' hotel room, but the store was not known. Police and store officials would confirm or deny that investigators visited the store. A lawyer for the limo driver, said his client should not be seen as "a star witness against Ray Lewis." "He's told police what he saw. And he's told police what he didn't see," David Irwin said.

Irwin would not comment on what Fassett has told police. But he said Fassett has periodically driven for Lewis during the past year and is "friendly" with the 24-year-old player. "He's very distraught about the trouble that has befallen Ray," Irwin said. Irwin would not comment on previous reports that knives and blood were found in the limo. Samuel said Fassett may have seen Lewis trying to break up the fight. "We don't know what his vantage point was or what he actually saw," Samuel said. He also said that because someone shot at the fleeing limo and bullet holes in the car were evident, someone other than the victims might have been involved in the fight.

Samuel said prosecutors have not approached Lewis with the possibility of lesser charges if the player identifies the actual killer. "Our conversations haven't gotten there yet," Samuel said. "They can find that out without needing Ray's help. Everybody who was there will figure out who else was in car sooner or later, and from there, it's not going to be any great mystery."