Ja'Cory Ranger, a 28-year-old Black / African American man, was found shot to death in a home near 5600 S 13th Place in south Phoenix on June 25, 2018. The discovery was made around 4:45 p.m., when police were called to the residence. Inside, they found Ranger and another man, 35-year-old Ricky Elam Jr., both deceased from gunshot wounds. A third person was also injured in the shooting but was found at a hospital.
The families of both victims were devastated by the loss.
Ranger was a father, and between him and Elam, they had 12 children. His mother, Thelma Ranger, recalled that on the day of the incident, he had checked on his sons and told her he would be home in a minute, but he never returned. His brother, Daniel Ranger, described the immense pain the family was enduring and stated that neither of the victims knew the suspect or were involved with the wrong crowd. Both men worked in construction and were dedicated to their young children.
Phoenix police identified 38-year-old Terrance Lamb as the suspect in the double homicide. Authorities stated that Lamb allegedly shot both victims and then fled the scene in a 1997 Chevy van. In the months following the murders, the families of Ranger and Elam pleaded with the public for help in locating Lamb, even contributing their own money to increase the reward for information leading to his arrest to $5,000. Their efforts and the ongoing police investigation eventually led to the apprehension of the suspect. An Arizona man, identified as the suspect in the killings, was eventually captured in Memphis and faced charges of second-degree murder.
