Stand Your Ground laws may impact charges in Mesa porch shooting as 'odd' details emerge

MESA, Ariz. - Mesa police have submitted charges in the shooting death of a Mesa mother of seven who died on her neighbor's doorstep last month. Investigators say the person who shot her is a special agent with the Arizona Attorney General's Office.

The backstory:

Forty-seven-year-old Dulance Morin, a longtime special agent for the AG’s office, is accused of fatally shooting 32-year-old Maria Lewis on February 28. 

Now, nearly two weeks after her death, details are emerging regarding the events leading up to the fatal encounter.

Internal documents from the AG’s office reveal the timeline began around 2 a.m. when Lewis got into an argument with her husband. She left and at some point ended up at the doorstep of her next-door neighbor, Morin. At 2:40 a.m., Morin’s family was woken up by aggressive banging and yelling at their front door. According to a memo, Morin warned the person he was armed and heard Lewis yell back that she was armed, too. Morin says he was holding his gun and it went off, but he later called the shooting an accident.

Just after 3 a.m., first responders arrived at the scene and pronounced Lewis dead. Mesa's investigation discovered several "odd" details at the scene:

The door: There was no physical damage to the front door, yet a bullet casing was found outside.

The evidence: A rock found near the body contained Lewis' DNA, though it did not match any stones in the neighborhood.

The cameras: Morin’s front door Ring camera was broken, and while police seized other cameras, none captured the shooting.

Police say Lewis' family has not given up their video camera to investigators. Over the past week and a half, Mesa police say they have conducted a thorough investigation to establish probable cause for negligent homicide.

However, according to the summary investigation sent to AG Kris Mayes, officials express concern that the case may be difficult to prosecute due to Arizona's "Stand Your Ground" and "Castle Doctrine" laws. It is now up to the Maricopa County Attorney’s Office to decide if the charge will move forward. Morin remains on paid administrative leave.

Statement from Arizona Attorney General Kris Mayes:

"Mesa Police Department has completed its investigation and it is now up to the Maricopa County Attorney's Office to conduct its review and determine the appropriate course of action in this case. I trust that the review of Mesa PD's investigation will be thorough and that MCAO will consider all available evidence before making any determinations. In the meantime, Agent Morin will remain on administrative leave pending the outcome of that process. These are devastating and tragic circumstances that have altered the lives of two families forever. My thoughts are with the family and loved ones of Maria Lewis as they continue to grieve her loss. Dee Morin is a long-serving member of the Arizona Attorney General's Office and a dedicated law enforcement officer. My thoughts are also with him and his family as they navigate this difficult and uncertain time."

Attorney General's Office briefing provided to Mayes on the incident:

We met with Mesa PD today to review the investigation into Dee Morin for our own internal investigation. Below is a recap of the presentation. Mesa told us that Dee was cooperative, and he appeared so on camera. They plan to submit a negligent homicide charge tomorrow while noting mitigating factors, including that he showed no signs of intoxication, was awoken at roughly 2:40 am to loud banging on his door, multiple people hear the victim say she was armed, the victim’s DNA was on a rock found by her body that had no apparent connection to Dee’s house and nearby properties, and Arizona’s stand your ground and castle doctrine laws. Based on our review, I’m uncertain Dee committed a criminal offense. The evidence we reviewed does not support negligent homicide, particularly when combined with self-defense statutes. While the ultimate charging decision is up to MCAO, I suggest Dee remain on administrative leave pending MCAO’s review.

Here is what Mesa PD determined:

Background:

• Dee lives with his wife, two children (14/11), and mother-in-law, who is helping the family while Audrey receives chemotherapy.
• The house is laid out with both the mother-in-law’s and children’s rooms off a hallway near the front door. The children were sleeping in the room closest to the front door.
• The victim, Maria Lewis, lived next door to Dee with her husband, and children. The victim’s home is owned by her mother. They moved in relatively recently (no specific known time, maybe a few months).
• Dee’s gun was his personal 9mm Glock that we approved for official use. The gun had a custom trigger, but it was within Glock’s standard specs (5.25 to 5.5 lb pull).

Events:

• Maria works for doordash and was working on 2/28.
• She arrived home around 0200-0230. Her husband told police she smelled like alcohol. They got into an argument, and she left the house.
• Neighborhood was canvassed but, she was not picked up on Ring cameras. A neighbor heard yelling around 0215 – 0220 and recorded it. We believe it may have been the victim and her husband before she left.
• 0244 Audrey called 911. Everyone in Dee’s house was woken up by loud banging and yelling at Dee’s front door.
• Dee gets up, puts on clothes, gets gun and goes to the front door. Everyone else remained in the rooms.
• Dee reported hard banging on his door and yelling that sounded like a man. He could see the flexing of the door and his deadbolt was moving.
• Dee reported yelling multiple times that he was armed, had a gun, would shoot if someone entered, and asked the person to leave.
• In response, Dee heard the person yell back that she was armed too. Audrey remained in bedroom but reported aggressive banging on the door.
• Dee’s son, reported that he heard punching at the door and was scared. He heard Dad say he’d shoot if someone entered.
• Dee’s daughter also reported hearing a person yelling outside that sounded like a man. She heard Dee tell the person to go away multiple times.
• Dee’s mother-in-law is hard of hearing. She heard banging, but thought it came from the backyard.
• One of the children said that they heard the victim say she was armed.
• Dee does not remember how the door opened or shooting the victim. As police arrive, he was one his knees on the front porch, with his hands up, and crying.
• The officer performed CPR, while Dee said she stopped breathing. Dee said, I have no idea who they are. They were trying to break the door in. He said it sounded like the person said, I’m armed, I’m coming in here. Dee said he had his gun in his hand and it went off. He did say it was an accident.
• Emergency medical arrived at the scene and announced the victim dead at 0311.
• Dee had put the gun in its holster and left it on the bench at the foot of his bed.

Dee's Subsequent Statements

• Dee gave subsequent statements which were all generally consistent

Mesa's investigation

• Dee’s house had 4 Ring cameras. The front door ring camera was broken. Mesa seized the cameras, but none had video the incident. They also did not obtain anything from a search warrant to Ring.
• The victim’s family has not given their video camera to Mesa PD.
• There was no damage to Dee’s front door, but I’m not necessarily surprised by that.
• A rock was found near Dee’s front door, and it had the victim’s DNA. It seemed ornamental, and it did not match any nearby rocks, or anything in the neighborhood when officers canvassed.
• Police could not find video evidence of the victim from a Tesla or nearby neighbors.
• There was some stippling around the victim’s right eye, meaning the shot was fairly close. The victim was near the threshold, so she had to have her face close to the door. The shooting angle was mostly flat, with a front to back location.
• The bullet casing was found outside the house.
• Dee has been cooperative during the investigation.

Submission

• Mesa plans to submit on negligent homicide.
• In justification cases, Mesa makes a case-by-case assessment. They recently have submitted a situation where their officer grabbed a gun, believing it was a taser, and shot a suspect.