Manhattan man delayed trial by submitting wife's fake COVID-19 test results: prosecutors
NEW YORK (1010 WINS) -- A Manhattan man charged with selling drugs delayed his trial by nearly two months by falsely claiming his wife had tested positive for COVID-19, prosecutors said Monday.
Devon Lewis, 35, went to trial Sept. 17 on charges related to selling and possessing heroin and cocaine, the Suffolk County District Attorney's office said in a release Monday.
Closing arguments were set to take place on Sept. 24, but on Sept. 23, Lewis submitted a photo of a positive COVID-19 test result to the court and said his wife, 36-year-old Blair McDermott, had tested positive for the virus, the DA's office said.
The judge suspended the trial as a result, pending the submission of a negative COVID-19 test by Lewis, the release said.
On Oct. 1, Lewis told the court he and McDermott were quarantining inside their Manhattan home, but on Oct. 14, his defense attorney submitted a photograph of a second test McDermott took that had also come back positive, further delaying the trial, the DA's office said.
The trial finally resumed on Nov. 12 — after McDermott submitted "proof" that she had tested negative for COVID-19 — and Lewis was convicted of 12 felony narcotics charges the next day, prosecutors said.
An investigation the DA's office launched after the trial, however, found that McDermott had actually tested negative for COVID-19, and had altered the documents she submitted to the court, the release said.
Investigators searched Lewis' cell phone after obtaining a warrant and discovered he and his wife "knowingly provided the false documents to the court," prosecutors said.
They also discovered that the two had traveled to New Jersey, Pennsylvania and Maryland — visiting "several hotels and casinos" — while they were purportedly quarantining at their home, the DA's office said.
Lewis also submitted a fake doctor's note to the court in August claiming he had asthma and that "any jail sentence imposed during the coronavirus pandemic would be a health risk," prosecutors said.
Lewis and McDermott have both been charged with two counts of second-degree forgery, two counts of first-degree offering a false instrument for filing and two counts of second-degree criminal contempt, according to prosecutors.
Lewis has also been charged with third-degree forgery, prosecutors said. He is being held without bail and is expected to appear in court again on Feb. 16, the DA's office said.
McDermott was released on her own recognizance after her arraignment on Dec. 23 and is expected to appear in court on Jan. 22, prosecutors said.
Attorney information for the two wasn't immediately available Monday.
