MESA, AZ – An Arizona Attorney General’s Office agent has been placed on administrative leave following the fatal shooting of a 32-year-old mother of seven whose body was discovered on her neighbor’s doorstep in Mesa.
Maria Lewis was found shot to death early morning on February 28 at a residence near the intersection of East Kinetic Drive and South Reliance Way, according to the Mesa Police Department. Agent DuLance Morin, 47, has been confirmed as involved in the shooting, though police have declined to specify his exact role in the incident.
Lewis’s husband, Albert Mendivil, told local NBC affiliate KPNX that he was inside their home with their seven children when he noticed police lights through the window. “I see red and blue lights on the back of the apartments and I came running out and look over,” Mendivil said. “And that’s when police pulled me back.”
Mesa Police Detective Jesse Macias confirmed that officers responded to a welfare check call at the residence, where they located an adult with a gunshot wound who was later pronounced deceased. The department’s investigation remains ongoing, and Morin has not been arrested.
According to Mendivil, investigators told him there was an altercation between Lewis and the neighbor, though it remains unclear how Lewis ended up at the neighbor’s house. Mendivil told KPNX that the neighbor claimed the shooting was accidental.
The Arizona Attorney General’s Office confirmed that Morin has been employed there since February 2016 and was placed on administrative leave pending the Mesa Police Department’s investigation. “The Attorney General’s Office is fully cooperating with the Mesa PD investigation and will conduct an internal review,” said communications director Richie Taylor.
Lewis’s family has called for murder charges to be filed in the case, according to local Fox affiliate KSAZ. A GoFundMe campaign launched by the family describes Lewis as someone who “raised seven beautiful children, ranging from 12 years old to 2 years old” and “leaves behind a husband who is now a widower to 7 of his children.”
“She’s a great person. Just lost for words right now,” Mendivil told KPNX about his wife.
The Mesa Police Department continues to investigate the circumstances surrounding the shooting involving the state law enforcement agent.
