In a quiet Scottsdale, Arizona neighborhood, the morning of Sunday, January 15, 2017, was shattered by a grim discovery. A family member found 58-year-old Charles Jackson Sr., a Black/African American male, deceased inside his home near the intersection of 74th Street and McKellips Road. Authorities were alerted around 11 a.m., and upon their arrival, it was determined that Jackson had sustained a fatal gunshot wound.
The Scottsdale Police Department immediately launched a homicide investigation, cordoning off the area to piece together the events that led to the tragic death of a man neighbors described as kind and gentle.
The investigation into Charles Jackson Sr.'s death moved swiftly as detectives began to uncover a series of crucial clues. A canvass of the neighborhood yielded a significant break when a resident provided surveillance video showing a suspicious man in the area before the murder. This footage became a vital piece of evidence. In the front yard of the victim's home, investigators discovered a baton that appeared to match one carried by the individual in the video. Further examination of the property revealed a shoe print in the backyard, believed to belong to the suspect. These initial findings painted a picture of a potential burglary that had escalated into a fatal encounter.
The most critical lead in the case came from technology. Investigators learned that Jackson's cell phone and truck had been stolen. By 'pinging' the stolen phone, detectives were able to trace its location to the nearby city of Mesa. There, they not only recovered the phone but also found the victim's stolen truck. A search of the vicinity in Mesa uncovered additional evidence belonging to Jackson. As Scottsdale detectives worked to identify the person of interest from the surveillance footage, an analyst had the presence of mind to check with the local jail. In a stroke of investigative fortune, they discovered that Mesa police had arrested a man on trespassing charges shortly after the murder.
This man was identified as 28-year-old Anthony David Stephens. Based on the culmination of evidence—the surveillance video, the recovered stolen property, and his recent arrest in close proximity to where the victim's belongings were found—Scottsdale police honed in on Stephens as their primary suspect. Less than two days after Charles Jackson Sr.'s body was discovered, investigators questioned Stephens at the Mesa jail. Following the interview, Anthony David Stephens was arrested and charged with first-degree murder and burglary in connection with the death. Authorities expressed confidence that they had apprehended the sole person responsible for the crime.
