Clayton News Daily

By Mehgaan Jones

mjones@news-daily.com

Clayton County Police have placed a lookout for the stepson of a 76-year-old Riverdale man, who is in the hospital with a head injury, after being shot earlier this month at his home.

Wallace Anthony Payne, 47, was living with the victim, Bobbie Lewis Roark, when the incident occurred, and Payne is being sought as a person of interest who may have information regarding the shooting of the elderly man, according to a Clayton County spokesman, Sgt. Otis Willis. He said detectives have interviewed everyone in the family except for Payne.

"We are not blaming him [Payne] for the crime," Willis emphasized. "We need to talk to him because he lived there," he said.

Family members found Roark in his home with a head injury two weeks ago.

"It was not discovered that he was shot in the head until he got to Grady Hospital," said Willis.

Roark's son-in-law, David Levine, said Roark remains in the hospital. "He won't be coming home anytime soon," he said.

Roark's vehicle is missing, according to Willis. He added that Payne is believed to have possession of the silver, 2006 Toyota Camry, with the Georgia license tag number of ARI2250.

Payne is 5'10, and weighs 150 pounds, according to a media statement. The release added that Payne has brown eyes, brown hair, and he occasionally wears eyeglasses.

Anyone with information regarding Wallace Anthony Payne's whereabouts is asked to contact Clayton County Police at (770) 477-3655.