Roderick Juan RJ Davis was 19 when he was shot to death on October 7, 2006, at a Chevron on East Ocean Avenue in Lompoc, California. The shooting followed an altercation with 22-year-old Martin Lara Jr.; Lara fired a shot that hit Davis in the neck and Davis died shortly afterward. The two had a long-running rivalry dating back to their time as student-athletes at Cabrillo High School.

After the shooting Lara fled and remained at large for just over two weeks before turning himself in at a border crossing in El Paso, Texas. He was charged with suspicion of murder, discharging a firearm from a vehicle at a person, and being a vehicle occupant with a concealed weapon. Lara’s arraignment included a determination that the death penalty would not apply; he faced an indeterminate term of years to life.

Later court action included a plea under which Lara pleaded no contest to second-degree murder and admitted a special allegation of shooting from a motor vehicle; in January 2008 he was sentenced to 20 years to life. An associate, Angela Barrera, pleaded no contest to helping Lara evade police and received one year in jail and five years probation. Family members delivered victim impact statements about Davis’s loss. Did anyone who knew RJ or who was at the gas station that night see details that haven’t been shared publicly?