In the late hours of a Tuesday night in Mesa, Arizona, the life of Curtis Reed, a 39-year-old Caucasian male, was tragically cut short. On August 15, 2018, Reed was shot in the front yard of an East Valley home he reportedly shared with his fiancée and her father. The incident occurred in the area of Main Street and Ellsworth Road. Maricopa County Sheriff's Office deputies responded to a call about the shooting at a residence near 91st Way and East Butternut Drive, where they found Reed with
gunshot wounds. He was rushed to a nearby hospital but was pronounced deceased.
The investigation into the homicide quickly pointed to a suspect, David Motley. Law enforcement considered Motley armed and dangerous and distributed a wanted bulletin for his arrest. For a few days, Motley evaded authorities. However, the search came to an end on a Friday afternoon when he was located and taken into custody in the vicinity of 86th Street and Main Street in Mesa.
Following his apprehension, David Motley was booked into the 4th Avenue Jail. He faced charges of second-degree murder and misconduct involving weapons in connection with the fatal shooting of Curtis Reed. The swift identification and arrest of the suspect brought a sense of resolution to the immediate investigation, though the motive behind the violent act was not immediately made public. The family of Curtis Reed, shaken by the sudden loss, had made public pleas for the killer to be brought to justice.
