DECATUR -- The top lawyer for DeKalb County was found dead Thursday morning of an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound, authorities said.

DeKalb commissioners were told midmorning that Charles Hicks, who has been out of the office for much of the week, had passed away, sources told Channel 2 Action News.

DeKalb County CEO Vernon Jones, who appointed Hicks to the post three years ago, praised his service to DeKalb during a press conference Thursday.

"Charles served DeKalb County in an honorable and effective manner," Jone said. "He was a leader in the legal community as a lawyer and the military community as a judge.

"He will be forever remembered for his dedication and service to his profession, to DeKalb County, to the state of Georgia and to the United States of America," the CEO said.

Workers in his office began searching for Hicks, who was going through a divorce, when he failed to show for a morning court appearance.

According to a police report released late Thursday, Hicks suffered a gunshot wound to the head and was found with a gun. It was not immediately clear if he left a note.

According to a report in the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, Hicks had served as a county magistrate and trial attorney.

A former Naval officer, he had been a prosecutor and criminal defense attorney with the Navy's Judge Advocate General's Corps. He launched a failed bid for a seat on DeKalb Superior Court four years ago.

Before joining DeKalb, Walker worked as an assistant city attorney in Atlanta for five years before starting a private practice in 1996.

He obtained his law degree from the University of Georgia and graduated from Morehouse College.

Channel 2 Action News reporters Tyler Sieswerda and Dale Cardwell contributed to this report.