Suspect in arson charged in FBI sting

0 Comments | Philadelphia Inquirer, The, August, 2007 | by George Anastasia Inquirer Staff Writer

Lamont Lewis, a suspect in one of the most brutal acts of witness intimidation in the recent history of the city, was ordered held without bail yesterday on unrelated drug and murder-for-hire charges.

The order, from U.S. Magistrate Judge Thomas J. Rueter, came after Lewis' defense attorney, Joseph Santaguida, did not contest a prosecution motion seeking no bail.

Assistant U.S. Attorney David E. Troyer had argued in a six-page motion filed earlier in the day that Lewis should be denied bail because he was both a risk of flight and a danger to the community.

Without arguments, yesterday's probable-cause hearing for Lewis lasted less than two minutes.

Lewis, 30, is charged with selling crack cocaine to a cooperating government witness and with agreeing...