Bridger Fleming

Bridger Fleming was a 38-year-old man from San Jose, California. Friends remembered him from his time in junior high and at Columbia Falls High School. At the time of his death, he was working in the metals department at the Ranchtown Recycling Center.

On the afternoon of Friday, September 6, 2019, an argument broke out between Fleming and an acquaintance in the parking lot of a FoodMaxx grocery store on the 1500 block of Parkmoor Avenue. The dispute escalated, and Fleming was shot at least once. He was rushed to a nearby hospital for treatment but succumbed to his injuries the following day, on September 7, 2019. The Santa Clara County Medical Examiner-Coroner’s Office later confirmed his identity.

San Jose police investigators quickly identified 42-year-old Robert Eugene Styre, also a San Jose resident, as the suspect. Two days after the shooting, a police officer in the city of Ceres, located in Stanislaus County, recognized a vehicle associated with Styre and conducted a traffic stop. Styre was taken into custody without incident and transported to the Santa Clara County Jail.

Styre was charged with the murder of Bridger Fleming and pleaded not guilty. At trial, he claimed that he had acted in self-defense. A jury rejected his claim and convicted him of second-degree murder. With the conviction, the case is considered solved.