Despite his accomplishments on the field, Lewis' public image was tarnished following a
Super Bowl party on January 31, 2000. Following the party, a fight broke out between him and rapper
Chino Nino's entourage, in which
Jacinth Baker, 21, and
Richard Lollar, 24, died from stab wounds. Lewis and two companions, Reginald Oakley and Joseph Sweeting, were brought to an
Atlanta police station for questioning. Eleven days later, along with Oakley and Sweeting, Lewis was indicted for
murder and
aggravated assault.
During the trial, several witnesses whose testimony would supposedly prove Lewis’ guilt had altered their stories initially given to investigators.[
citation needed] Their testimonies were supposed to show that Ray Lewis hit, kicked or stabbed someone, and that he even admitted as much afterwards. Instead, the vast majority of testimony had either been inconclusive, or else supported the defense’s contention that Lewis acted solely as a peacemaker, trying to prevent a tragedy that he would be tied to and potentially hurt his career. According to ESPN legal analyst,
Alan J. Baverman, "as to Ray Lewis, there is no evidence that he assisted anybody in a stabbing or encouraged anybody to do a stabbing which would make him a party to felony murder, malice murder, or felony assault with a knife."
[18]
Lewis's attorney arranged with prosecutors to dismiss the murder charges if Lewis pleaded guilty to a
misdemeanor charge of
obstruction of justice[19] in exchange for him testifying against Oakley and Sweeting. Lewis accepted the
plea bargain and was sentenced to one year of probation. He was not suspended by the NFL but was fined
US$250,000, a league record at the time.
Oakley and Sweeting were acquitted of the charges in June 2000. No other suspects have ever been arrested for the crime.
The following year, Lewis was named
Super Bowl XXXV MVP. However, due to the controversy, he did not get the endorsements or the
Disney World trip offered to recent MVP recipients. The signature phrase "I'm going to Disney World!" was given instead by quarterback
Trent Dilfer.
On
April 29,
2004, Lewis reached a settlement with four-year-old India Lollar, born months after the death of her father Richard, preempting a scheduled civil proceeding.
[20] Lewis also reached an undisclosed settlement with Baker's family.
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