Jason Luke, a three-year member of the Buffalo Bandits in the late 1990s, was arrested Friday and charged with second-degree murder in the death of his father, Bob Lewis of Waterloo, Ontario.

Lewis, 58, was found dead in his home Thursday afternoon when police went to the house after receiving a phone call from a family member.

"I was just talking to [Lewis] on Wednesday and he was talking about retiring next year," said Hardeo Sieunarine, who worked with Lewis for the past 29 years.

The news came as a shock to Sieunarine, who described Lewis as "a lively and easygoing person."

"You can't think anything right now. It's a shock to the system."

Lewis has just returned from a week-long trip to Jamaica, where he had visited family, according to his co-workers.

"He was a jolly person and always had a big smile," said Oliver Berry as he ended his morning shift. "He's just that kind of person.

"Whenever I had church tickets to sell he'd buy them just to support me. He might not be able to go to the event, but he always bought the tickets."

Although a welder for almost his entire thirty-year career at Lear Seating Corporation, he had been working as a janitor there while awaiting retirement.

Luke, 25, appeared in court Friday in Kitchener, Ontario, where his case was remanded until Monday. Luke was dressed in a white paper jumpsuit given to prisoners whose clothes have been taken from them.

Luke starred for the St. Catharines Athletics Junior A team from 1993 to 1996, then played in the Major Indoor Lacrosse League and National Lacrosse League for the Bandits from 1996 to 1998 before a knee injury ended his career. He was named the fastest player at the Ontario Lacrosse Association's 1995 skills competition and played in its all-star game that year.

According to friends, Luke took his forced retirement hard and had disappeared from the Ontario lacrosse community in recent years. However, St. Catharines manager Bob Luey remembers Luke as a "great kid."

"He was the team clown. This is a tragic part of his life."

Luke was taken into custody without incident by Niagara and Waterloo regional police around 2:00 AM Friday morning.

The cause of Lewis' death has not been determined, but Waterloo Regional Staff Sgt. Matt Torigian said that obvious signs of trauma were present on the body. An autopsy was scheduled for yesterday, and forensic officers are expected to return to Lewis' house this weekend to search for evidence.

The Toronto Star contributed to this news release.