UPDATE: Lea Ann Lewis has been charged with Murder – Non-Family Gun. Her bond is $50,000. Joe Harris is charged with Kidnapping 2nd Degree and Abuse of a Corpse. Bond is $50,000.
BY SARAH STEPHENS
ELMORE/AUTAUGA NEWS
One man is dead from apparent gunshot wounds, while his girlfriend and another man are jailed and could face charges connected to his murder.
The shooting death occurred between 1 and 2 a.m. this morning in the Crenshaw Community of Elmore County off Hwy. 111, according to Elmore County Sheriff Bill Franklin.
“We are still trying to sort this out, but it is a little bit crazy,” Franklin said.
From what investigators have been able to determine, the events leading up to the death began Monday night.
“At this time, we believe that Lea Lewis and her boyfriend Emmanuel Lucas (both 19) conspired to go to Montgomery and pick up a friend of theirs named Joe Harris, also 19. Joe thought he was going to get in the car with Lea and they would partake in recreational activities. Unbeknownst to Harris, Lucas was in the back seat hunkered down near the floorboard of a small, compact car,” Franklin said.
Franklin said that Lea Lewis, with Emmanuel Lucas hiding in the car, drove to Montgomery and picked up Joe Harris. They talked from Zelda Road to the Crenshaw Community off Hwy. 111 in Wetumpka.
“At that point, on a desolate dirt road (Clover Bottom Road) just before the vehicle came to a stop, Lucas, the shooting victim, allegedly reached over and grabbed Mr. Harris who was in the front seat. Supposedly, Lea Lewis thought Emmanuel Lucas only wanted to fight Harris, or she says she was under that impression,” Franklin said.
Lucas allegedly grabbed Harris by the neck, and in another hand had a knife allegedly stabbing Harris a couple of times.
However, Mr. Harris had a handgun on him, and as he was being stabbed, he fired two rounds from a small caliber handgun, striking Lucas, who died from the injuries.
“Lucas was then allegedly pulled from the vehicle and left in the middle of Clover Bottom Road. Lewis and Harris left the scene, with Ms. Lewis allegedly being held at gunpoint and forced to drive him back to Montgomery. Harris allegedly told Ms. Lewis he was mad at her because she had set him up,” Sheriff Franklin said.
After Ms. Lewis dropped Harris off, she reportedly telephoned a family member who told her to call authorities, which she did according to Sheriff Franklin.
Lea Lewis has been charged with Murder – Non-Family – Gun. Harris is now charged with Kidnapping 2nd Degree and Abuse of a Corpse.
Franklin pointed out that a murder charge is possible for Lewis, because anytime someone is involved in the commission of a crime, and a death occurs, all involved can face murder charges.
This matter remains under investigation. Emmanual Lucas’ body has been turned over to the Department of Forensic Science for an autopsy.
