Steve Lee Lewis - Arizona - 1983

What makes it even more mind-boggling that he was in minimum security is I looked up his Arizona DOC listing as well and he had a laundry list of infractions and disciplinary actions while in jail- Narcotics possession, weapons manufacturing, contraband etc. You'd think that would be enough to get him sent to a more strict jail.

Who knows where he may be today. I know he was a drug runner, but if he did drugs as well, it does make me wonder if he's still even alive anymore.

Hi. I hope this post is okay and fits he forums rules. I want to start by saying I do not know the victims and I do not know the perps. This is more of a discovery of the true crime origins of a song from 1972 called "Then Came The Last Days Of May" by Blue Öyster Cult. I first heard the song when I was a teen in the mid 1980's. The lyrics always fascinated me. When I got to see them in concert in the 1990's one of the band members said that the song was based on a true story and that the singer, Donald "Buck Dharma" Roeser, knew a couple of the victims. It was only recently that someone on a BÖC facebook page shared an archived NY Times article about the arrest. From that article is how I found your page.
2 Arizona Youths Held in Slayings Of 2 New Yorkers
About a minute and a half intro to the song talking about the 1970 incident.

Then Came the Last Days of May
 
Parched land, no desert sand, the sun is just a dot
And a little bit of water goes a long way 'cause (It's hot...)
Three good buddies were laughin’ and smokin’
In the back of a rented Ford
They couldn't know they weren't going far
Each one with the money in his pocket
To go out and buy himself a brand new car
But they all held the money they had
Money they hoped would take them very far

Sky’s bright, the traffic light, now and then a truck
And they hadn't seen a cop around all day (What luck...)
They brought everything they needed
Bags and scales to weigh the stuff
The driver said, "The border's just over the bluff"
It wasn't until the car suddenly stopped
In the middle of a cold and barren plain
And the other guy turned and spilled
Three boys' blood, did they know a trap had been laid?



They’re okay, the last days of May, but I’ll be breathin’ dry air
I’m leaving soon, the others are already there (All there...)
Wouldn’t be interested in coming along instead of staying here?
It’s said the West is nice this time of year, that’s what they say


A lot of people get confused as to why the song is called ...Last Days of May when the crime happened in July. I've always interpreted the last four lines as coming from one of the victims. He is asking the singer to go to Arizona with them. The singer declines and the rest is history.

 
 

The sole survivor of the shooting is my father. Just learned about the song. Fascinating.