A beloved Georgia divorce legal professional was shot useless by the estranged husband of certainly one of his shoppers earlier than the disgruntled man torched his workplace along with his stays nonetheless inside, authorities allege.
Lawrenceville police say Doug Lewis was alone inside his places of work on Stone Mountain Avenue Wednesday night when Allen Tayeh walked in and shot him useless.
Tayeh then allegedly poured gasoline throughout Lewis’s workplace, and began a fireplace earlier than he was noticed strolling away from the scene of the crime affected by burns of his personal.
Investigators now say Tayeh owed Lewis greater than $28,000 in authorized charges, after the well-respected legal professional gained his ex-wife a $170,000 settlement and a choose ordered he pay for his exes’ legal professional’s charges as effectively.
Tayeh, 65, is now going through felony homicide and first-degree arson costs, and is being held on the Gwinnett County Jail with out bond.
Doug Lewis, a beloved divorce legal professional in Lawrenceville, Georgia, was shot useless and his places of work had been set on fireplace Wednesday night time
Authorities say Allen Tayeh, the estranged husband of certainly one of his shoppers, was dismayed by how a lot he owed Lewis in authorized charges earlier than he shot him and ignited his places of work
Authorities have stated they had been first alerted to a fireplace at Lewis’s places of work inside an outdated, transformed home at round 5pm.
After they arrived they noticed the wooden constructing was severely burnt, and as soon as the fireplace was extinguished, firefighters discovered Lewis’ physique nonetheless inside.
Quickly, a witness informed authorities on the scene that they had seen a person strolling away from the scene who additionally appeared to have been burned, and Lawrenceville police had been capable of detain Tayeh on the scene.
‘He did have a firearm on him,’ Lt. Jake Parker informed WUSA, ‘a revolver that had spent cartridges within the cylinders. And there have been fuel cans and an odor of gasoline spherical the world as effectively.’
‘It is fairly brazen,’ he added of the homicide. ‘It is sort of out of the blue.’
However court docket paperwork obtained by 11 Alive now recommend Tayeh might have been motivated to kill Lewis over the substantial settlement he gained his ex-wife.
The paperwork state that Tayeh’s ex-wife filed for divorce in January 2021, and enlisted Lewis as her legal professional. A verdict was then reached in August to dissolve the wedding.
Below the phrases set forth by an area choose, Tayeh must give his ex-wife half of his retirement advantages, pay $138,000 inside 90 days for her share of fairness of their Dacula home and ship her $500 in month-to-month alimony.
A choose then dominated in late October that Tayeh would additionally must pay his ex-wife’s authorized charges from the divorce proceedings — amounting to $28,483.23 — inside 30 days.
Authorities had been capable of detain Tayeh on the scene after a witness noticed him strolling away with burn marks on his pores and skin
Tayeh is now being held on the Gwinnett County Jail with out bond as he faces felony homicide and first-degree arson costs
He had apparently by no means paid these payments, 11 Alive experiences, with court docket filings from December 1 displaying that Lewis requested a choose maintain him in contempt of court docket for failing to make the funds.
‘The fee for attorneys’ charges was as a consequence of be acquired by Plaintiff’s counsel on or earlier than November 30, 2022,’ Lewis wrote.
‘Defendant didn’t make the fee for attorneys’ charges as ordered by the court docket,’ he continued, writing: ‘Defendant is in willful contempt of the court docket’s order dated October 31, 2022.’
A listening to was set to debate the matter for December 14, however has since been canceled.
Firefighters arrived on the scene of Lewis’s regulation places of work on Wednesday night time to seek out it had suffered vital harm
Lewis is now remembered as a pleasant, family-man who has been in apply in Gwinnett County for 30 years.
‘I will miss him,’ fellow legal professional Phil McCurdy stated. ‘He had an incredible humorousness and a really fast wit.’
McCurdy stated they had been generally adversaries in court docket, however served as co-counsel at different instances.
‘Doug was a consummate gentleman,’ he stated. ‘I’ve by no means heard him elevate his voice. I by no means noticed him lose his mood. I by no means noticed him deal with anybody besides with respect.
‘I do not know anybody who did not respect him as a colleague, as knowledgeable as a human being,’ he added.
Kristina Weaver additionally stated she acquired to know Lewis and his household when their youngsters had been younger.
‘I used to see him in Dacula Park on a regular basis and he was simply the nicest man,’ she stated. ‘He’s well-known within the household court docket group, particularly.
‘It is simply actually unhappy.’
In the meantime, Jesse Kent, a former regulation accomplice of Lewis stated he was a ‘devoted household man who cherished his spouse and kids.
‘Hardly ever did a day go that he did not point out them or how proud he was of them,’ Kent stated, including: ‘Doug was a pleasure to be round; he was the usual that each one legal professionals — together with me — aspired to be.
‘His absence was felt the second he left us, and the authorized career will ever be the identical with out him.’
