In the late summer of 2018, the community of Yuma, Arizona, was shaken by a grim discovery that unfolded within the walls of a home on West 5th Street. On the afternoon of September 3rd, a report of a deceased person led deputies from the Yuma County Sheriff's Office to a residence in the 2700 block of the street. Inside, they were met with a tragic scene: three men, all victims of apparent gunshot wounds, were found dead.
One of these men was Javier Sanchez, a 24-year-old Hispanic male who worked as a laborer in the area.
The investigation into the triple homicide quickly became a priority for local law enforcement. Alongside Javier Sanchez, authorities identified the other two victims as 20-year-old Grady Baxter and 19-year-old Nicholas Grabbe, both residents of Yuma. From the outset, investigators stated that they did not believe the act was random, suggesting a targeted attack. The Yuma Police Department's Crime Scene Unit was called in to assist in the meticulous collection of evidence at the scene, working through the evening to piece together the events that led to the violent deaths of the three young men.
As the investigation progressed, a primary suspect emerged. The Yuma County Sheriff's Office identified Jimmie Roy Jordan as a person of interest and sought the public's help in locating him for questioning. Jordan was eventually apprehended and linked to the triple murder. His path through the justice system was complex, as he was already serving a sentence for a separate murder. The legal proceedings for the triple homicide faced delays, partly due to the outsourcing of evidence to an external lab and the subsequent processing challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic. Ultimately, Jimmie Roy Jordan pleaded guilty to an amended charge of second-degree murder as part of a plea agreement, bringing a close to the search for the person responsible for the death of Javier Sanchez and his two companions.
