Coward police continue to investigate slaying involving father, son

A Coward man accused of gunning down his son over the weekend appeared before a judge Monday morning.

Florence County Coroner “Bubba” Matthews says Dominic Lewis, 22, of Railroad Avenue was shot Saturday night in the lower back of the head and was pronounced dead at a local hospital.

Booking reports show investigators charged his father, Joe Julious with first degree murder in connection to the crime.

Coward police say they arrived on the scene just after 10:30 p.m. on the night of July 4th.

Police say they were responding to a shooting call, and upon arrival found Lewis lying on the ground located behind the home, with an apparent gunshot wound to the head.

South Lynches Fire Department and Florence County EMS crews attempted to resuscitate Lewis, but he was unresponsive and not breathing.

Paramedics then transported Lewis to a local hospital, where he was pronounced dead on arrival.

Coward Police officials said Julious and Lewis got into a verbal altercation, which then escalated into the shooting.

Coward Police Chief Kevin Miller said that it “could have possibly been avoided if parties would have contacted 911 when the incident first began instead of allowing the situation to spiral out of control.” 

Julious had his preliminary hearing before a judge Monday morning. The judge refused to set bond for Julious.

He will have to go before a circuit court judge sometime in the future for a bond hearing.