An Arizona Attorney General’s Office investigator accused of negligent homicide pleaded not guilty in court.
DuLance Morin was indicted by a grand jury in September 2026 in the fatal shooting of his neighbor Maria Lewis, 32. Mesa police found Lewis with a gunshot wound on Morin’s doorstep near Kinetic Drive and Reliance Way in Mesa in the early morning of Feb. 28, according to police.
Morin appeared virtually during the arraignment hearing on Oct. 8 in Maricopa County Superior Court.
A judge ordered Morin to remain released under pre-trial services and to have no access to firearms.
Morin’s attorney, Adam Feldman, told the judge he advised his client that he should have no contact with Lewis' family and to record any interactions that may happen,
as they are neighbors.
Jocquese Blackwell, an attorney representing Lewis’ family, read a statement at the hearing saying their “single and unwavering focus is obtaining justice and complete accountability for her death.”
“Our family is devastated by the sudden, violent and senseless loss of a loving and devoted mother, wife and daughter. She was loved by all who knew her. She deserved to feel safe not only in her home but in her close-knit community. Her absence has left an unfathomable void in our lives,” he read out to the judge.
Morin was due back in court on Nov. 24.
Attorney General’s Office stands behind Morin
Morin remains employed in an administrative position at the Attorney General’s Office, spokesperson Richie Taylor said.
In a previous statement to The Arizona Republic, he said Morin would remain in the position “unless he is convicted in a court of law.”
"Attorney General Mayes believes Mr. Morin is not guilty of this charge and will be found not guilty. Mr. Morin is now entitled to due process as is every individual,” Taylor said.
An internal email sent on March 12 between a criminal division chief to Attorney General Kris Mayes and top staff suggested the shooting was in self-defense.
Shots rang out overnight in a Mesa neighborhood
Mesa police were dispatched to Morin’s home at 2:44 a.m. on Feb. 28 after reports of an injured person on Morin’s doorstep where Lewis was later pronounced dead, according to Mesa police.
Mesa police recommended that Morin be charged with negligent homicide on March 13, but prosecutors with the Maricopa County Attorney's Office sent the case back with a request for more information.
The internal email from the Attorney General's Office showed Criminal Division Chief Nicholas Klingerman believed the presented evidence in the police briefing did not “support negligent homicide, particularly combined with self-defense statute,” he wrote.
Morin told investigators, according to the email, he heard loud banging on his front door, and multiple people inside the home attested to hearing the person outside say she was armed.
He warned the person at the door that he was armed and would fire if someone entered, he told investigators, according to the document.
Republic reporters Jose R. Gonzalez and Perry Vandell contributed to this story.
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This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: AZ Attorney General investigator pleads not guilty in neighbor's death
