Suspect Who Died After Gunfire Exchange Had Home Raided Last Fall

The man who died after exchanging gunfire with federal agents by his home had a previous run-in with the law, according to neighbors. 

Douglas Clayton Lewis died of a gunshot wound around 6 a.m. this morning—possibly by his own hand, according to authorities—in his normally quiet neighborhood of Covington Place in the Manassas area of Prince William County. Several neighbors told Patch that his home was raided by federal agents last fall. Despite authorities seizing numerous computers during that raid, neighbors said they were shocked to hear that law enforcement officers had come this morning to execute a search warrant on child pornography charges. 

Rosie Lee Ellyson, who lives across the street from Lewis's residence, said that he seemed "quiet, nice, kind. I guess you never know your neighbors until something like this happens."

She said that during the October 18, 2012, raid, it looked like agents had cables going through his computers. 

"They broke the door down," recalled Heidi Lang, a neighbor who was friends with Lewis since he moved in over five years ago. "They took a lot of computer equipment. We thought they had the wrong house."

Lewis had excellent computer skills and spent a lot of time on his computer, Lang said. He also collected antique guns and practiced shooting as a hobby, she said.

Lang said that as time passed and nothing happened to Lewis, she and her husband felt more confident that the raid must have been a mistake. Their neighbor worked long hours as a groundskeeper in the Dulles area, and was "very, very quiet." He never mentioned anything to them about the raid, she said. 

This is a developing story. Patch will update as more details become available.