Gov. Nathan Deal announced Tuesday the appointment of Lewis Lamb as district attorney of the Southwestern Judicial Circuit.

Lamb will fill the vacancy created by the passing of Plez Hardin. Hardin was found dead in his pickup truck on April 8, a single gunshot wound to his chest. Law enforcement investigators ruled the death a suicide and later revealed Hardin was in the midst of plea negotiations for a tax evasion charge related to theft of public funds from his office.