In the early morning hours of Friday, April 14, 2023, a dispute between roommates in Dothan, Alabama, escalated into a fatal encounter. Kenneth Bruce, a 71-year-old male, was found deceased in the backyard of his residence at 701 Langley Drive, Apartment 2, suffering from multiple gunshot wounds to his upper torso. The discovery was made by neighbors at approximately 6:35 AM, who then alerted the Dothan Police Department.
Earlier that morning, around 5:54 AM, police had an unrelated
encounter with Bruce's roommate, 33-year-old Blake Thomas Evans. Officers found Evans in the swimming pool of a nearby home on Redwood Avenue, a property where he did not reside. The homeowners did not know him. Officers determined Evans was under the influence of an unknown substance and arrested him for public intoxication. During this interaction, police learned that Evans lived at the Langley Drive address with Bruce.
The investigation into Bruce's death quickly centered on Evans. It was determined that the two men had been involved in an argument over an unknown matter in the hours preceding the discovery of Bruce's body. During this altercation, Evans retrieved a handgun that was kept in the apartment and shot Bruce multiple times before fleeing the residence. At the time of this incident, Evans was already out on bond for a previous incident in December 2022, for which he faced charges of Domestic Violence First Degree, Domestic Violence Strangulation, and Assault Second Degree.
Following the investigation into Bruce's death, Blake Thomas Evans was charged with murder. His bond was set at $1.5 million. Subsequently, Evans pleaded guilty to one count of murder. On November 13, a judge sentenced him to 35 years in prison for the killing of his roommate, Kenneth Bruce.
