Two Charged In Murder Of Off-Duty Police Officer

By Chuck Sudo in News on Jan 7, 2012 7:00PM

Two men have been charged in the Dec. 29 murder of off-duty police officer Clifton Lewis. 34-year-old Edgardo Colon and 29-year-old Tyrone Clay are due in bond court today. Each has been charged with first-degree murder of a police officer and murder while in commission of an armed robbery.

Police arrested Colon on an traffic stop Tuesday and found a .357 handgun with two live rounds in his car. He faces an additional, unrelated gun charge and has a conviction for home invasion in 2007. He was paroled in 2009 and also has convictions for cocaine distribution and obstruction of justice.

Police say that Lewis was killed by shots fired from an automatic weapon akin to a TEC-9; the gun has not been recovered. Because Lewis discharged his weapon, they declared he died in the line of duty and was afforded a police funeral and burial.