Criminal Justice

Police Trace Alabama Lawyer's Burning SUV, Find Him Dead of Multiple Gunshots at Home

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Police in Tarrant, Ala., began looking for a Talladega County civil defense and worker’s compensation lawyer yesterday after finding his white 2009 GMC Yukon afire.

Last night, authorities discovered Blake Lazenby, 54, dead of multiple gunshot wounds in his home in Sylacauga, according to the Birmingham News. He is survived by a teenage daughter.

A member of Thornton, Carpenter, O’Brien, Lazenby, and Lawrence since 1981, Lazenby “was the nicest person you’d ever want to meet,” his law partner, Mike O’Brien, told the newspaper.

The Anniston Star reports that Lazenby’s body was discovered at about 11 p.m. yesterday. He was in his dining room, wearing a suit and tie and apparently was killed in his home.

The newspaper says he was last seen at a gas station in Sylacauga at about 5:30 p.m.

Lazenby also worked frequently in Calhoun County and often handled mediation matters there, said Joel Laird, former Calhoun County circuit judge who was a fraternity brother of Lazenby at the University of Alabama.

“He had that ability to bring both sides together and get a case settled out of court,” Laird told the Star.

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