In September 2019, the life of 38-year-old Alex Blueford, a male from North Little Rock, Arkansas, was cut short in a violent encounter. On the evening of Thursday, September 12, 2019, police were called to an apartment complex at 800 North Beech Street following reports of a shooting. Upon their arrival, officers discovered Blueford suffering from multiple gunshot wounds.
He was immediately transported to a local hospital for medical attention.
Despite the efforts of medical personnel, Alex Blueford succumbed to his injuries three days later, on September 15, 2019, as confirmed by the Pulaski County Coroner's Office. His death was classified as the city's 12th homicide of the year. The investigation into the shooting quickly led to a suspect. A 70-year-old man named Louis Thomas turned himself in to the Little Rock Police Department.
Initially, Thomas was charged with First Degree Battery. However, following Blueford's death, the charges were upgraded to First Degree Murder. He was then held without bond at the Pulaski County Regional Detention Facility. The motive for the shooting was not immediately released by the authorities.
Blueford's life had been marked by previous legal troubles. In 2009, he was tried for capital murder in the 2007 death of his girlfriend's one-year-old son. That trial resulted in a hung jury and a mistrial. The case eventually went to the U.S. Supreme Court in *Blueford v. Arkansas* on the issue of double jeopardy. In 2013, Blueford entered a no-contest plea to first-degree murder and was sentenced to prison. He was granted parole in December 2016.
