JURY EXONERATES SOLDIER OF WITNESS-TAMPERING CHARGE.(CAPITAL REGION)(Correction notice)

Byline: JOHN CAHER Staff writer

ALBANY A soldier who had been accused of threatening the key witness against two Albany police officers has been acquitted of a witness-tampering charge.

A jury deliberated about six hours Friday before deciding that Army Spc. Ralphiel Davis, 27, of Fort Ritchie, Md., is not guilty of threatening a witness expected to testify against two Albany cops charged with stealing marijuana and cash from a suspected drug dealer.

Davis was indicted after the witness, Damon Giles, said he was visited by the defendant Dec. 12, 1993, at Rikers Island state prison in the Bronx, where he was being held on a robbery charge. …