Teen to be tried as adult in death of twin

By ANDREW WELSH-HUGGINS

Associated Press Writer

COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) -- Following testimony from a weeping mother and harsh comments from a prosecutor, a judge on Wednesday ordered a teen accused of being an accomplice in the shooting death of his identical twin brother to be tried as an adult.

Franklin County Juvenile Court Judge Dana Preisse said there was enough evidence supporting the possibility that Derris Lewis participated in the crime that led to the death of his brother, Dennis.

Preisse made her decision after taking about 40 minutes to privately review evidence presented by prosecutors, including a bloody palm print that police say belonged to Derris and was found in the room where Dennis was shot in January.

Derris turned 18 two weeks after his brother's shooting. Wearing dark pants, white shirt and black tie, he showed no emotion when Preisse announced her decision.

Preisse set his bond at $50,000, over the objections of prosecutors who requested a $1 million bond.

They expect to take the case to a grand jury in adult court soon.

Derris Lewis -- the younger twin by 22 seconds -- is charged in juvenile court with being an accomplice to aggravated murder, aggravated robbery and kidnapping.

Authorities won't say what Derris Lewis is accused of doing. They say the motive that night was robbery but won't comment further.

Police based their arrest on the palm print found on a wall in the bedroom where Dennis fought with his attacker.

The boys' mother, April Lewis, described the attack Wednesday under questioning by assistant Franklin County prosecutor Doug Stead.

She said she was asleep on a couch after midnight Jan. 18 in the front room when three masked men entered the house. While one man held a gun to her head and demanded money, two others went to Dennis' bedroom where she heard sounds of a struggle, then a gunshot.

Under follow-up questioning by Elizabeth Hall, one of Derris Lewis' public defenders, April Lewis said all three men wore gloves.

On cross examination, Stead indicated that April Lewis had just changed her story.

"Do you recall telling the police that morning that the only person you saw wearing gloves was the individual who held the gun on you?" Stead said.

"They all was wearing gloves," April Lewis replied.

"And you'd swear to that, ma'am?" Stead said.

"Yes," April Lewis said.

During testimony that often dissolved into tears, April Lewis said Derris Lewis wasn't in the house that night.

"I wish Derris was there -- he would have protected me," she said.

Mark Bryant, a veteran fingerprint expert with the Columbus Police Department, testified there were 16 points where the print found in the bedroom matched the palm print of Derris Lewis. "There is no doubt they were made by the same individual," he said.

Derris Lewis' public defenders struggled to overcome this evidence, choosing instead to challenge whether Bryant had the number of continuing education hours on his resume.

They conceded he did after taking a break to examine his records, though public defender Susan Laughlin-Schopis noted much of the training had taken place several years ago.

In closing argument, Stead, his voice rising at times, said the evidence was clear that the bloody print belonged to Derris Lewis.

"There is no other explanation to explain that bloody palm print on the wall in the bedroom where those brutalities were exhibited against Mr. Dennis Lewis other than the fact that he participated in the home invasion and murder of his brother," Stead said.

In her closing comments for the defense, Hall referred to "mistakes that were made" without being specific.

"We haven't figured out yet where these mistakes were made," Hall said. "We're confident that they were."

Lewis' aunt Paula Lewis said the family was relieved the low bond would allow them to free Derris. She said Derris was still hoping to graduate from high school. She repeated that he was innocent.

"His mother didn't raise a killer," she said. "I didn't help raise a killer."

Asked about the palm print, Paula Lewis said, "We're saddened by it all, but I have no comment."