In the early hours of a Tuesday morning in Ontario, Oregon, the life of 21-year-old Raymond Kelly, a Caucasian male, was tragically cut short. Just before 1 a.m. on April 23, 2019, a 911 call was made from a residence on Northwest 6th Street, reporting that a man had been shot in the head. The caller initially suggested the wound might have been self-inflicted, but a crucial detail was missing: there was no gun to be found near Kelly.
Ontario Police officers arrived at the home within
minutes to find Raymond Kelly deceased in his bedroom. The initial investigation quickly pivoted away from the idea of suicide, as evidence indicated the fatal shot had been fired from outside his bedroom window. The Malheur County Major Crimes Team was activated, bringing in resources from multiple agencies, including the Oregon State Police and the Malheur County Sheriff's Office, to unravel the circumstances of Kelly's death.
The investigation swiftly led detectives to two individuals, 20-year-old Nicholas Tucker and 21-year-old Starr Bales, both from Ontario. After being questioned by police, Tucker and Bales were arrested on the afternoon of the shooting. They were subsequently charged with murder and criminal conspiracy in connection with Raymond Kelly’s death.
Following their arrests, both suspects were booked into the Malheur County Jail. A judge set bail for Starr Bales at $500,000, while Nicholas Tucker’s bail was set at $1 million. The Malheur County District Attorney's office prepared to present the case to a grand jury as the two faced the serious charges brought against them. During the investigation, police recovered a. 308-caliber bolt-action rifle, believed to be the weapon used in the fatal shooting.
