Towns County, GA, Fire Rescue Firefighter Fired, Arrested for Sharing Photos of Dead Twins
Editors note: 11 Alive reports the firefighter is not being charged directly in the deaths of the brothers. He was fired on March 14 for violating department protocol.
Rosana Hughes
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
(TNS)
ATLANTA — A volunteer firefighter is accused of publicly sharing photos of the scene where twin brothers from metro Atlanta were found dead atop a northeast Georgia mountain this month.
The bodies of 19-year-old Qaadir Malik Lewis and Naazir Rahim Lewis were found on Bell Mountain the morning of March 8.
The firefighter, whose Facebook page says he works for the Towns County Fire Rescue Department, allegedly “took photos of the Lewis twins’ death scene and shared them publicly,” according to the Georgia Bureau of Investigation. He does not face charges in connection with the twins’ deaths, only a misdemeanor charge of obstruction. The Atlanta Journal-Constitution is not identifying him because he is not charged with a felony.
A call to Towns County fire Chief Harold Copeland went unanswered.
The case has drawn national attention after the twins' family pushed back on the GBI’s initial statement that the incident appeared to be a murder-suicide.
“My nephews wouldn’t do this!” wrote the twins’ aunt, Yasmine Brawner, in a GoFundMe campaign to help pay for their funerals. In a week, nearly $29,000 has been raised.
“They came from a family of love, and twins wanted so much for their future,” she added. “They had dreams of starting their very own clothing line.”
Brawner and other family members have not responded to multiple attempts for comment, and the Towns County Sheriff’s Office declined to provide an incident report.
The GBI said Sunday that the autopsies had been completed, but an official ruling on a cause of death is pending “additional forensic tests.”
It’s not clear what the brothers from Lawrenceville were doing on Bell Mountain or where exactly they were found, only that hikers located them around 11 a.m. that day and called 911.
The park, owned by Towns County, opens daily at 8 a.m. and closes at sunset. It is accessible by vehicle during operating hours. Sightseers can drive up the mountain to a flat parking area before climbing boardwalk stairs to an overlook that allows 360-degree views of Hiawassee and Lake Chatuge.
A gate on the road inhibits vehicular access during off hours, but there are no other access controls. The remote area is not staffed or supervised and has no access to electricity, so no cameras or other security measures are in place, Towns County attorney Robb Kiker Jr. said.
Officials have been tight-lipped. The GBI has not shared what caused the initial belief that the brothers died in a murder-suicide or if that opinion has changed.
“Unfortunately something happened at Bell Mountain that ended the lives of 19-year-old Qaadir and Naazir,“ Brawner wrote. It “needs to be further investigated.”
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