A 29-year-old man accused of killing a 26-year-old Phoenix man in a parking lot shooting was tracked down and arrested a mile from the California-Mexico border, after fleeing the state with a woman who allegedly joined in the attack. Stevie Nelson was taken into custody following a days-long search that stretched from central Phoenix to San Diego, where investigators say license plate reader technology helped close in on him just before he could slip across the border.
Phoenix police were called to a shooting near 16th Avenue and Buckeye Road around 6:30 p.m. on Oct. 28, according to AZ Family. Ricktavon Thompson, 26, had started to leave when he was shot multiple times in the parking lot; he was rushed to a hospital, where he later died. A second person was also struck by gunfire during the incident but left before officers arrived, police said, and later went to a hospital on their own, where they are expected to recover.
Detectives Say A Fight Turned Deadly
Homicide detectives learned that Thompson and Nelson had gotten into a fight, and that a 32-year-old woman also assaulted Thompson during the scuffle, per the same account. Investigators say Nelson and the woman then got into a gold-colored sedan and sped off from the scene.
Police used license plate reader technology to identify Nelson and the woman, the report notes. Two days after the shooting, authorities learned the woman was headed toward California but could not immediately locate her, prompting Phoenix police to request help from the San Diego Police Department.
Caught Near The Border
San Diego police found Nelson and the woman in a rental vehicle a mile from the Mexico border on Oct. 30; both were taken into custody and booked into San Diego Jail, the outlet reported. Nelson is set to be brought back to Arizona, where he will be booked for second-degree murder. Whether the 32-year-old woman also faces charges remains unclear, according to the report.
Phoenix police said the arrest resulted from collaboration among Phoenix police groups, PPD representatives assigned to the FBI, and the San Diego Police Department. “Through their teamwork and use of technology resources, a dangerous felon was prevented from fleeing the country,” police said, per the same account.
Plate Readers Have Cracked Other Phoenix Cases — And Drawn Scrutiny
License plate readers have factored into other Phoenix-area homicide investigations. In a separate case, ABC15 reported that investigators used the same kind of automated technology to help locate 47-year-old Spencer Vidal, who was arrested at his home and booked into jail on one count of second-degree homicide. But the tools have also come under internal scrutiny: in August, four metro Phoenix police departments announced internal investigations into alleged misuse of license plate readers, according to KJZZ. That reporting noted a Surprise police officer was placed on paid leave after an audit found an abnormality in the system, while a Goodyear officer faced a criminal investigation tied to a potential policy violation uncovered during a similar audit.
Arizona law defines second-degree murder under Arizona Revised Statutes section 13-1104, titled “Second degree murder; classification,” according to the Arizona Legislature. The statute's opening language addresses killings committed without premeditation, and subsection C classifies second-degree murder as a class 1 felony and identifies applicable punishment provisions.
