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The Lowndes County Sheriff’s office arrested a suspect Friday in connection with Lowndes County’s first homicide of 2023.

Christopher Earl Raymond, Jr., 27, a black male from Dallas County, was taken into custody and charged with murder for the shooting of Eddie Oneal Lee, 43, of White Hall.

Investigator Charlie McKinnon, lead agent on the case, said the suspect was apprehended in Dallas County Friday.

“It was important to Sheriff West to catch Lee’s killer,” McKinnon said. “He was discovered through a combination of community tips and phone records.”

Lowndes County Coroner Terrell Means confirmed the death of Lee in the days following the shooting and said the victim sustained fatal injuries in a Saturday morning shooting.

“Lee was shot and died on the scene,” Means said. “This is the first homicide this year.”

Lowndes County Sheriff Chris West said his office is investigating the circumstances leading to Lee’s death. Deputies responded to a 911 call for help around 4:15 a.m. Sept. 16 and arrived at the scene of 120 Elm Street to discover Lee, a black male, unresponsive in a white SUV. Means pronounced Lee dead on the scene.

The shooter’s motive and the details of the murder remain unclear at this time. Raymond is currently held in the Lowndes County Detention Facility with no bond and is scheduled to go before District Judge Adrian Johnson Monday for an “Aniah’s Law” hearing to determine his eligibility for a bond.

“This agency is still working on the details of the incident and if anything new arises we will update the public as we can,” McKinnon said.

McKinnon is being assisted in the investigation by the Lowndes County Sheriff’s Office Special Operations Unit as well as the Alabama Law Enforcement Agency’s State Bureau of Investigations (SBI) Selma and Montgomery Divisions. Anyone with information on the incident should call the Lowndes County Sheriff’s office Investigations Division at (334) 548-2323.

Due to the ongoing investigation, no further information is available.