Police and prosecutors are expressing frustration that one of the men arrested
in connection with Monday's deadly gang-related shooting is a convicted felon
once charged with murder and later allowed out on a bond paid by a local
doctor. Finis Lewis has an extensive criminal history, including a 2008
charge that he killed a man in the J.C. Napier public housing development. But
Monday night, Lewis was back on the streets, and he now faces a firearms charge related to the shootout near Hadley Park. Lewis was even shot during the exchange.
Police say witnesses were critical in capturing Lewis after the 2008 shooting.
"The police department is very dependent on witnesses. Their eyes and ears, if you will, help make Nashville a much safer place," said Don Aaron, Metro Police
spokesman. But before Lewis's trial, the witnesses either suddenly
changed their stories or disappeared. "Essentially, they had given one
statement to police during their investigation, and then closer to the trial
those statements or stories changed or witnesses disappeared," District Attorney
Dina Shabayak said.Lewis was later convicted on drug charges in 2010
for possessing ecstasy. Because of his problematic past, he was given a $150,000
bail. What happened next stunned police and prosecutors. According to court records obtained by the Channel 4 I-Team, Dr. Simone Lampkins of Brentwood paid Lewis's $15,000 bond to get him out of jail. Through his office manager, Dr. Lampkin said he does not know Lewis at all, but he has "no comment" when asked why court records show he paid Lewis's $15,000 bond. Police say if this doctor didn't pay Lewis's bond, and if witnesses from the murder charge hadn't disappeared, the shoot-out on Monday may have ended differently.
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