In the early hours of a summer morning in Mesa, Arizona, the life of 33-year-old Sam Earl Briscoe Jr. was brought to a violent and sudden end. On July 1, 2020, at approximately 2 a.m., Briscoe was seated in the driver's seat of his car at a Circle K on the corner of Dobson and Guadalupe roads. He had just returned to his vehicle after buying a drink for a friend who was in the passenger seat.
At that moment, a man in the back seat spoke to Briscoe, and then the sound of a gunshot shattered the quiet of the morning.
A struggle ensued inside the car before more shots were fired. The passenger, a friend of Briscoe's, told police that Briscoe had kicked at him, urging him to get out of the car. The friend fled into the convenience store, shouting that there had been a shooting. Another employee who was outside emptying the trash also heard the gunshots and witnessed the suspect running through the parking lot. When Mesa police officers arrived, they found Briscoe with several gunshot wounds. He was rushed to a nearby hospital but succumbed to his injuries about 30 minutes later.
The investigation quickly focused on 19-year-old Isaiah Lee Armstrong. The passenger in Briscoe's car revealed that Briscoe had received several calls and text messages from Armstrong the night before, asking for a ride from a house party. After Briscoe picked him up, they drove to the Circle K. Surveillance video from the store corroborated the witness's account of the events. Investigators also learned from Briscoe's family and friends that his crossbody fanny pack, wallet, cash, and a handgun were all missing from the car.
Later that same day, the case broke open when Glendale Police received a call about Armstrong barricading himself inside an apartment. His girlfriend had reported that he confessed to her that he had 'murdered' someone at a Circle K. The caller also informed police that the gun used in the shooting was in a car Armstrong had been sitting in earlier. Following this tip, Isaiah Lee Armstrong was arrested and subsequently faced charges including murder and armed robbery for the death of Sam Briscoe Jr.
