Argument Leads to Fatal Shooting in Baldwin County
By Rick McCann
Blue RAM Media/Gulf Coast News
February 14, 2026
BALDWIN COUNTY, Ala. Two people who knew each other got into a disagreement that ended in gunfire during the overnight hours early Saturday.
According to the Baldwin County Sheriff’s Office, an argument between 45-year-old Paul Maxwell, Jr. and his neighbor across the street, 40-year-old Lee Douglas, ended with Douglas dead and Maxwell charged with murder.
Sheriff investigators say that it all happened at around 3:30 a.m., Friday, February 13, 2026, on Sandy Creek Drive, in Baldwin County, between Elberta and Foley.
What started as an argument between the two men became violent, and gunshots rang out.
During the investigation, it was learned that Douglas, who was unarmed, was shot multiple times, though investigators have not said what the argument was over, nor why shots were fired.
Authorities ay that the man’s wife and son were inside the home during the shooting but were not harmed.
Baldwin County deputies were able to take Maxwell into custody and booked him into the detention center.
Bond was set at $200,000, with the conditions that if released, Maxwell would have to wear an ankle monitor, stay away from guns and Douglas’s family, and he cannot go back home and will have to find another place to live for now.
“They were known to each other, they were friends, and they were hanging out last night,” and then they got into some type of confrontation, Baldwin County Assistant District Attorney Patrick Doggett said.
“The defendant admitted to being the one that fired the fatal shots,” he said.
If Maxwell can make bond, he will be required to wear a GPS ankle monitor, and he cannot contact the victim’s family, be near firearms and he cannot continue living at his residence.
The Sheriff’s Office said that Maxwell has admitted to shooting Douglas.
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