A drug deal that prosecutors say was a setup ended in the killing of a 17-year-old in south Phoenix, and now both men involved are headed to prison. Today, Agel Chan Ring was sentenced to 22 years in prison, and Nathan Da Ron James received a 13-year term for the 2024 shooting death of 17-year-old Aidan Apel. The teen was found shot in a vehicle on July 28, 2024, near 7th Avenue and Buckeye Road.
Sentences and pleas
Ring and James pleaded guilty to second-degree murder and were sentenced this week under separate plea agreements. Prosecutors said the pair posed as marijuana buyers, lured Apel to the meeting spot, then shot him twice in the chest and stole items from him, according to 12 News.
How police say the killing unfolded
Phoenix police were called just after 11:30 a.m. on July 28, 2024, and found Apel in the driver's seat of a car, where he was pronounced dead at the scene, according to a Phoenix Police Department media advisory (Phoenix Police Department). Officers said witnesses helped identify and point them to a suspect who was later detained, and local television coverage at the time reported the fatal shooting near 7th Avenue and Buckeye Road, as ABC15 reported.
Prosecutor reaction
Maricopa County Attorney Rachel Mitchell said her office sees cases like this "far too often," pointing to the ongoing toll of teen gun violence, according to 12 News. Prosecutors framed the prison terms as part of a broader push to hold violent offenders accountable in similar cases.
What the law allows
Under Arizona law, a second-degree murder conviction carries a presumptive sentence of 16 calendar years, with a typical statutory range from 10 to 25 years that can be reduced or increased by the court, per the Arizona Revised Statutes. That range helps explain why Ring received a sentence near the higher end while James received a shorter term under his plea agreement.
The sentencings close out the criminal cases against both men, but they do not erase the loss for Apel's family. Prosecutors and police say that trying to prevent similar killings remains a central priority for the county.
