A missing Harrisonburg man who worked as a private investigator was found shot in the trunk of his car March 6 in the Valley Mall parking lot.
Police are treating the death of Arthur Gregory Brown, 50, as a homicide, according to Mary-Hope Vass, spokeswoman for the Harrisonburg Police Department.
Sources close to the investigation say Brown was shot sometime after he was scheduled to serve divorce papers to Ali Bbid, 49, of Weyers Cave. It’s unclear where the shooting took place.
Brown, who owned Argus Investigative Services in Harrisonburg, was reported missing by his family Thursday, the same day he was going to serve Abid with the legal documents.
Harrisonburg police say Abid was the last person “in contact” with Brown and he\'s a possible suspect in the private investigator\'s death.
Abid has a concealed weapons permit, according to documents filed in Augusta County Circuit Court.
A press release sent out by the Harrisonburg Police Department on Saturday said Abid could possibly be in the Dulles International Airport area. Sources say Abid is no longer in the U.S., but it’s unclear what country he is in.
Abid is facing both financial and marital problems, according to documents filed in Augusta and Rockingham county circuit courts.
Abid’s wife, Margot Kons, filed for divorce Feb. 18 in Augusta County Circuit Court.
Abid, who owned Aspen Industries in Harrisonburg, had a default judgment filed against him in December 2009 by American Express, which claimed he defaulted on his $22,000 credit card balance.
In October 2009, Huntington National Bank filed a lawsuit in Rockingham County Circuit Court claiming that Abid and Aspen Industries defaulted on a loan for the company\'s 2008 GMC Yukon. The remaining balance was for more than $44,000. That case remains active.