CONYERS, Ga. -- A 41-year-old Conyers man remained in the Rockdale County Jail on Monday, charged with the murder of his wife. But it appears this isn't his first run-in with the law.
Police said Letron Bell shot his wife, Lisa Bell, Sunday morning. Rockdale County Sheriff's deputies were called out to the couple's home on Habersham Way late Sunday morning. When they arrived, they said Letron Bell shot at them.
"He came out of the home and started firing at the deputies immediately," said Sgt. Tijuana Harris of the Rockdale County Sheriff's Department. "The deputies returned fire and then began to chase him. It was dangerous because of the neighborhood and the subdivision, not knowing who was out, so officers had to take that into account."
According to deputies, Lisa Bell, a mother of three, ran out of the home and was followed by her husband who pursued her into a wooded area. Deputies followed Letron Bell, and when they caught up, they found Lisa Bell on the ground suffering from a gunshot wound.
"They found the victim, Mrs. Lisa Bell, face down in a wooded area with a gunshot wound to the chest," said Sgt. Tijuana Harris of the Rockdale County Sheriff's Department.
Emergency crews gave medical attention to Lisa while Letron was taken into custody. Lisa was transported to Rockdale Piedmont Hospital where she was pronounced dead.
Some of the couple's neighbors said Bell was shooting at his wife while her children were inside their home. One neighbor said he saw Bell shoot his wife in the back.
11Alive's Neima Abdulahi learned on Monday that there had been a prior domestic call by law enforcement to the home back in February of 2017. However, both of them declined to file a police report at the time of the call, and no one was arrested at that point.
After the deadly weekend shooting, neighbors told 11Alive News it looked like deputies fired bean bags to subdue Letron Bell because he was physically fine afterward.
"There were probably 10 to 12 officers out here,” said neighbor Greg Parks. “One was behind my car with his gun drawn. There were a few more with full SWAT gear on. They had to come around behind him to get him to surrender, which he never did. So they had no choice but to take him down. Fortunately, it was with bean bags, so he was physically he was fine."
Bell has been charged with felony murder, two counts of aggravated assault against law enforcement, three counts of cruelty to children and possession of a firearm during the commission of a crime. He remains inside the Rockdale County Jail.
The couple's three children were safely inside the home at the time of the shooting.
