NFL star Ray Lewis charged with murder

Tuesday, February 1st 2000, 12:00 am

By: News On 6

ATLANTA (AP) -- Ray Lewis of the Baltimore Ravens was supposed to be in Hawaii this week, preparing for his third straight Pro Bowl. Instead, the star linebacker is in prison clothes, the second NFL player charged with murder in less than a month.

Lewis is accused of stabbing two people to death shortly after Sunday night's Super Bowl. Lewis, the league's leading tackler this season, was charged after police spent most of the day investigating the slayings, which happened in Atlanta's trendy Buckhead neighborhood about 4a.m. Monday.

Wearing a red prison uniform and with his hands shackled in front of him, Lewis was in court today for a preliminary hearing on the charges. The hearing was postponed until Feb. 24 at the request of prosecutor Larry Gardner, who said he needed more time to confer with witnesses and police. Lewis was held without bail. His lawyer, Max Richardson Jr., said Lewis is innocent. "We're taking the position that he was in the wrong place at the wrong time," Richardson said outside the courtroom. "Fromwhat I've gathered from law enforcement officers, they know Ray didn't kill these unfortunate victims. They don't know where the other two men who were involved are, so they arrested Ray." He did not identify the other men.

Before his arrest, Lewis told a Baltimore newspaper he was questioned by police but cleared of any wrongdoing. "I cooperated fully," Lewis told The Sun. "As for the situation, I have no comment." Two men were stabbed during a fight that broke out about 200 yards away after a party at the Cobalt lounge. Witnesses said six men fought and argued with the two victims before fleeing in a black stretch limousine, firing at least five gunshots as they drove away.

The 24-year-old player was the only suspect identified by police. The stabbing victims were identified as Jacinth Baker, 21, and Richard Lollar, 24, both of suburban Decatur. One man died at the scene, the other at Grady Memorial Hospital.

Despite the report of shots, police said the preliminary investigation indicated both victims were stabbed to death. Ravens owner Art Modell told The Sun, "I don't believe he had anything to do with it. I'm going to give Ray the benefit of the doubt and defend him until something is proven otherwise." Lewis, in Atlanta for an autograph-signing session and to attend the Super Bowl, was to leave Monday for Honolulu, where the Pro Bowl will be played Sunday.

The Ravens said he changed his flight to Tuesday when he learned he was wanted for questioning. The team said it has not spoken with Lewis. "We respect the investigative and judicial processes that are taking place," club spokesman Kevin Byrne said. "We are monitoring all of this as best we can." Lewis joins former Carolina Panthers receiver Rae Carruth as the only active NFL players to be charged with murder. Prosecutors plan to seek the death penalty against Carruth, indicted Jan. 4 for first-degree murder after Cherica Adams died the previous month from wounds in a drive-by shooting.

Adams was pregnant with their son, who was born prematurely and survived. Carruth was released by the Panthers after Adams died. NFL commissioner Paul Tagliabue commented on Friday on the rash of criminal charges against players. "Can we separate ourselves from society? â€œOf course not," Tagliabue said. "We can't predict what NFL players will do anymore than we can predict students shooting other students or workers shooting fellow workers."

The NFL had no comment today on the murder charge against Lewis. Investigators found the vehicle in a parking lot behind a hotel near the shooting scene, police spokesman John Quigley said. He declined to release others details of the investigation or a possible motive.

Charles Cook, operating partner of the Cobalt, said there was no altercation at the club, which closed about half an hour before the slayings. He said Lewis had been at the club earlier in the week but did not know if he was there Sunday night. The Cobalt is a sleek, upscale lounge featuring vinyl-covered chairs and chrome-plated fixtures. It is in the heart of Atlanta's nightclub district, where thousands of revelers spill into the streets every weekend. The club was closed Monday after a "Super Bowl Champagne Blowout" the previous evening. The NFL title game between the St. Louis Rams and Tennessee Titans was played about seven miles away in the Georgia Dome. The Cobalt has come under criticism from neighborhood businesses because of an earlier killing. On Jan. 17, a man was shot to death near the club.

Lewis has led the Ravens in tackles each of the past four seasons. The middle linebacker led the league with 167 tackles this season. He signed a four-year contract extension in 1998 for a reported $26 million. But Lewis he has had problems off the field. In December, he was accused of punching a woman in a Baltimore bar and then leaving the scene. The woman, Katrice Sherree Parker, filed a criminal complaint.

Lewis was an All-American at Miami and finished second in the voting for the Butkus Award, given to the nation's top linebacker. He left college after his junior season and was drafted by Baltimore in the first round in 1996. Lewis was born in Bartow, Fla., and grew up in a single-parent household along with a brother and three sisters. At Miami, his best friend, Hurricanes linebacker Marlin Barnes, was beaten to death in an off-campus apartment in 1996. Barnes' girlfriend also was killed. Lewis called his slain friend "my motivation" and usually wore a shirt with Barnes' picture under his jersey. "I know he's in a better place," Lewis once said. "I see hime very day. I talk to him every day."