Who Is Lawrence Dority? Meet Basketball Player Adreian Payne Murderer And Shooter

Lawrence Dority shot and killed Adreian Payne, a 31-year-old former collegiate basketball star who was briefly a member of the Orlando Magic, at the Econ Landing townhouses in east Orange County overnight, according to the Sheriff’s Office.

Deputies were called to the 2500 block of Egret Shores Drive at about 1:30 a.m., according to an unsigned statement, and found Adreian Payne was injured.

The gunman, Lawrence Dority, 29, lingered at the crime site and was subsequently interviewed by homicide detectives at OCSO headquarters, according to the Sheriff’s Office. The FBI did not provide any information regarding the interview or what led to the shooting.

Dority was arrested and placed in the Orange County Jail on a first-degree murder warrant, where he is being held without bond.

The Magic issued a statement on Monday through Joel Glass, the team’s chief communications officer, expressing their condolences to Payne and his family at this difficult time.

Adreian Payne grew up in a neighborhood that was notorious for being hostile and unpleasant.

They were barely scraping by. By the time he was five years old, his father, Thomas, had been arrested and convicted of narcotics sales and possession and had been sentenced to three years in jail. He never returned to the house where he grew up.

Adrian’s mother, Gloria, became a single mother and struggled to support herself and her children. Gloria had a long history of asthma and died at the age of thirteen due to a severe episode.

Thomas tried to become more active in his son’s upbringing after that, but Adreian’s grandmother, Mary Lewis, was named as his legal guardian.

According to the Sheriff’s Office, the shooter, 29-year-old Lawrence Dority’s mugshot has been released by the police department however, his jail sentence hasn’t been made public as of now.

He stayed at the scene of the killing and was later interviewed by homicide detectives at OCSO headquarters.

He was caught and charged with first-degree murder at the Orange County Jail.

Payne played in 107 NBA games for the Atlanta Hawks, Minnesota Timberwolves, and Orlando Magic across four seasons, averaging four points and three rebounds.