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Lowndes County District Judge Adrian Johnson denied bond to a Dallas County man Monday who is accused of committing Lowndes County’s first murder for the year.

Christopher Earl Raymond, Jr., 27, appeared before Johnson Monday for an “Aniah’s Law” hearing and was denied bond. He is currently held in the Lowndes County Detention Facility in Hayneville

The Lowndes County Sheriff’s office arrested Raymond, a black male from Dallas County, in Sept. 29. Raymond 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.

“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. 

“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.