ATLANTA: James Brown’s former son-in-law fatally shot

The former son-in-law of music legend James Brown was slain last week after what police describe as a violent struggle in the garage of his Buckhead townhouse.

Darren Lumar, 38, suffered gunshot wounds to both ankles and wrists and to the middle of his chest on Nov. 5, but was able to drive himself to Northside Hospital for treatment, Atlanta police Lt. Keith Meadows said.

He died from his wounds within a day, Meadows said.

Police have not made any arrests in the case but have some leads, Meadows said.

Lumar was married to Yamma Brown Lumar, one of James Brown’s daughters. Nicknamed the “Godfather of Soul,” Brown, 73, died in December 2006 of heart failure at Atlanta’s Emory Crawford Long Hospital.

Darren and Yamma Lumar had two children and lived on Tuxedo Court in Buckhead, according to a June 2007 Atlanta Journal-Constitution account of the couple’s divorce proceedings.

The divorce was made final in October 2007, Fulton County court records show.

Last week, when Darren Lumar drove up to the townhouse off Roswell Road in Buckhead where he most recently lived, someone waited outside, Meadows said.

As Lumar pulled his car into his garage, the suspect rushed in before the door closed. A violent struggle followed, as was evident by blood stains and the location of Lumar’s wounds, Meadows said.

Police also found items, including an earpiece for a cellular telephone, scattered throughout the garage, the police lieutenant said.

A motive for the shooting is unclear. Police are investigating Lumar’s business and financial dealings. Lumar told the AJC last year that he was involved in investment banking.

“He was involved in a lot of business deals,” Meadows said. “Some people took objection to the way he did business.”

Meadows said a witness spotted the suspect lurking around Lumar’s townhouse and smoking cigarettes before he arrived.

The suspect was described as a man in his mid-30s, about 5 feet 9 inches to 5 feet 10 inches tall.