LEE COUNTY, Ala. – An 18-year-old Phenix City man has been arrested in connection with the fatal shooting of a man during a house party earlier this month in Lee County, according to the Lee County Sheriff’s Office.
Deputies responded to the 800 block of Lee Road 197 on July 11 after receiving a 911 call reporting shots fired at an open house party.
When deputies arrived, they found a man lying in the yard suffering from an apparent gunshot wound to the chest.
Emergency Medical Services transported the victim to Piedmont Hospital in Columbus, Georgia, where he later died from his injuries.
Investigators with the Lee County Sheriff’s Office responded to the scene and conducted an investigation that led to the identification of a suspect. Authorities said evidence collected during the investigation established probable cause to obtain an arrest warrant for 18-year-old Raymond Drew Earl of Phenix City.
On July 27, members of the Lee County Sheriff’s Office Investigations Division, the Lee County SWAT Team and the U.S. Marshals Service Gulf Coast Regional Fugitive Task Force executed a search warrant at a residence in the 300 block of Lee Road 706 in the Beauregard community.
Earl was taken into custody without incident and charged with murder.
He was booked into the Lee County Detention Center, where he is being held without bond pending an Aniah’s Law hearing.
The Lee County Sheriff’s Office is continuing to investigate the homicide. Anyone with information is asked to contact the Sheriff’s Office at 334-749-5651 or Central Alabama Crime Stoppers at 334-215-STOP (7867).