Murder & Kidnapping Under Investigation in Elmore County

Investigators in Elmore County are working to unravel an unusual case. What appeared to be a set-up for a fight, turned into a murder and kidnapping.

One person is dead and two others are facing charges.

Elmore County Sheriff Bill Franklin says it started when Lea Lewis and her boyfriend Emmanuel Lucas picked up an acquaintance, Joe Harris, on Zelda Road in Montgomery around 1 o’clock Tuesday morning.

“They had a companion robbery case from a few months ago up here in Elmore County. Harris was going to plead to that case and testify,” Franklin told Alabama News Network.

But the sheriff says Lucas wanted to go to trial, and it appears he was willing to fight Harris over it, so he hid in the car.

“Mr. Lucas gets in the back seat. He hunkers down in the back seat where hopefully when Harris is picked up, he won’t see him back there.”

Franklin says the three drove from Zelda Road all the way up to Clover Bottom T Road in Elmore County, off Highway 111.

“While they’re fixing to stop in the middle of the dirt road there, Lucas wields a knife — 6-8″ blade knife. He comes over the seat and begins to stab Mr. Harris in the left arm.”

But the sheriff says Lucas was in for a deadly surprise from Harris inside the car.

“He grabs what we believe is a .380 black semi-automatic handgun. He fires off two rounds, hitting Lucas in the face and he dies of those gunshot wounds.”

Sheriff Franklin says Lucas’ body was left in the road as Harris — who thought Lewis set him up — forced her to drive him back to Montgomery at gunpoint, where he was dropped off.

The sheriff says a relative then convinced Lewis to call police to tell them what happened. Meanwhile, Franklin says Harris called an ambulance for his stab wounds, but was then taken into custody.

Sheriff Franklin says Harris faces kidnapping and abuse of a corpse charges, as well as the original robbery charge. He says Lewis is charged with murder-non family.

Franklin says the case could go to a grand jury as early as April.

In the meantime, investigators will be looking and phone and text records to see what else they can learn.