Former Ravens player arrested in hit-and-run incident

Former Ravens player Jermaine Lewis, who returned a kickoff for a touchdown in the team's 2001 Super Bowl victory, has been charged with driving recklessly and resisting arrest after police said an officer had to use a Taser to subdue him.

Police said witnesses followed Lewis' vehicle Monday evening and reported that it was swerving and had run over a volunteer fire company sign before it turned into the player's home on Pleasant Grove Road in northern Baltimore County.

A police officer who went to the home said in a report that he found the 36-year-old Lewis in his living room, "lying on the couch with his shorts half-way down to his knees," smelling of alcohol, and that the retired wide-receiver fought attempts by the officer to put him in handcuffs.

"I ain't hurt no one," Lewis shouted, according to a charging document filed in court. "I'm in my house." After being stunned and arrested, Lewis shouted three times, "I did it!" the report says.

He was ordered held on $50,000 bail, but a representative of Big Boyz Bail Bonds said the company was in the process of posting bail Tuesday evening. Lewis could not be reached for comment.

Lewis played for the University of Maryland and spent nine seasons in the National Football League, playing for three teams. His longest stint was with the Ravens, from 1996 to 2001. In the 2001 Super Bowl, he returned a kickoff 84 yards for a touchdown, and was named to the Pro Bowl in 1998 and 2001 and as all-pro first team returner in 1998.

Baltimore County police said they received complaints, starting shortly after 6 p.m. Monday, from motorists reporting that a 2006 white Dodge Charger was driving erratically.

Police said the car was registered to Lewis and that he had previously had his driving privileges revoked or suspended. Police said an officer spotted the Dodge in Lewis' driveway and knocked on the front door.

Officer Andrew J. O'Neil said he "noticed a strong odor of an alcoholic beverage emanating from the defendant Jermaine Lewis' person and notices that his eyes were glass and bloodshot."

When O'Neil asked Lewis what happened, he reported that Lewis answered, "I hit a sign."

O'Neil wrote that Lewis resisted when he tried to place him under arrest and refused to get off the couch, After a warning, O'Neil wrote that he fired his Taser at Lewis once, hitting him in the upper body, and placed him in custody.

Lewis was charged with resisting arrest and numerous traffic infractions, including driving on a revoked or suspended license, failure to control speed to avoid a collision and failure to report an accident.

Baltimore County police spokeswoman Cathy Batton said Lewis was not charged with alcohol-related offenses because "officers could not prove beyond a reasonable doubt that he had not consumed alcohol after arriving home."

peter.hermann@baltsun.com