In the early morning hours of July 28, 2018, the life of 21-year-old Michael David Whitis Jr. was tragically cut short in the town of Payson, Arizona. A young man from Phoenix, he was with a group of friends at the historic Shoofly Ruins when the fatal incident occurred. His friends described him as a great kid with a good soul.
Deputies from the Gila County Sheriff's Office were dispatched to the Shoofly Ruins parking lot following a report of a shooting.
Upon arrival, they discovered Michael Whitis Jr.'s body in the backseat of a minivan. He had sustained a fatal gunshot wound. Witnesses at the scene reported seeing a suspect flee into the surrounding wooded area, prompting an immediate search.
Later that afternoon, around 1:30 p.m., a passerby noticed a man matching the suspect's description attempting to flag down vehicles and alerted the authorities. Law enforcement located and apprehended the individual, identified as 27-year-old Steven Brydie. Brydie was taken into custody and transported to Banner Payson Hospital for treatment of unspecified injuries.
The investigation that followed revealed that Brydie and Whitis Jr. were friends. By all accounts, the shooting was not intentional. However, Brydie was legally prohibited from possessing a firearm at the time of the incident and had a history of illegal drug use. In September 2019, Steven Brydie stood trial for second-degree murder. The jury ultimately found him guilty of the lesser charge of negligent homicide. He was sentenced to the maximum term of 15 years in prison without the possibility of early release, in part because he was on probation and in illegal possession of a firearm at the time of Whitis Jr.'s death. An appeal was later filed citing prosecutorial misconduct, but it was determined that the issues raised were not sufficient to warrant a new trial.
