In the late afternoon of December 17, 2012, a domestic disturbance call at a Motel 6 in Stockbridge, Georgia, set in motion a tragic chain of events that would end the life of a young police officer. Sean Louis Callahan, a 24-year-old male who had been with the Clayton County Police Department for only four months, responded to the call with another officer.
The officers were there to handle a dispute involving Tremaine Lynn Lebis and his wife, Lisa Ann Lebis, who were being evicted from their motel room.
As the officers attempted to arrest Tremaine Lebis, he resisted and fled on foot. A chase ensued around the motel, during which Lebis opened fire on the pursuing officers. Officer Callahan was struck twice in the head. The other officers returned fire, killing the 42-year-old suspect at the scene. Lebis had a long criminal history and had been released from prison just seven months prior. Officer Callahan was rushed to Grady Memorial Hospital, where he succumbed to his injuries the following morning, on December 18, 2012.
In the aftermath of the shooting, Tremaine Lebis's wife, Lisa Ann Lebis, was arrested and charged with obstruction and simple battery. Prosecutors later charged her as a party to the crime of felony murder, alleging that she knew her husband was armed and had a history of violence, yet did nothing to de-escalate the situation or warn the officers. In 2014, a jury found Lisa Lebis guilty of felony murder, and she was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole, plus an additional 35 years.
However, in October 2017, the Georgia Supreme Court overturned Lisa Lebis's murder conviction. The court ruled that while there was significant evidence connecting her to the weapons found in the motel room, the state had failed to prove that she had joint possession of the murder weapon at the time of the shooting, which was a necessary element for the felony murder charge. Her conviction on two misdemeanor obstruction charges was also reversed.
