By Kevin Kelly
The Cincinnati Enquirer

CHANDLER, Ariz. - Palm trees shade the curve where South 94th Place ends and West Butler Drive begins.

The lively sounds of Latin music echoed throughout this working-class neighborhood Saturday where children rode their bicycles in the streets and some residents caught up on yard work or washed their cars.

There are no visible signs of what transpired here early Wednesday morning, but this is the spot where Reds outfielder Dernell Stenson was shot and killed, dragged and run over by his own Isuzu Rodeo.

"We heard the gunshots," said Maria Gutierrez, who lives on South 94th Place. "My cousin saw a truck stop and then saw someone drop to ground before the truck took off really fast.

"The person just stayed on the ground. He didn't move at all. Then the police started coming."

Three suspects are now in custody after David Griffith, 20, surrendered to police in the Salt River Pima-Maricopa Indian Community late Saturday night.

Chandler police had posted a $10,000 reward earlier in the day for information leading to his arrest and conviction.

Authorities with the Pima-Maricopa Indian Community were holding Griffith on an auto theft charge relating to Stenson's 2002 Isuzu Rodeo, Chandler police spokesman Sgt. Mark Franzen said.

"He was arrested without incident and was very cooperative," Franzen said. "The investigation is continuing. We're still gathering and collecting information. We'll have to see where this takes us."

Despite Griffith's arrest, a motive for Stenson's murder has yet to be established.

Equally elusive are details surrounding Stenson's whereabouts from the time his Arizona Fall League teammates saw him at 11:30 p.m. at a Scottsdale, Ariz. bar until the time his body was discovered on West Butler Dr. at 1:47 a.m.

"We know that he ended up on a street in Chandler," Franzen said. "Where did this start and why? It's part of the investigation. We're now trying to work backwards."

Police have offered few specifics about the crime and resulting investigation, but chilling new information about the murder emerged in Saturday's edition of the East Valley (Ariz.) Tribune.

A story citing unnamed law enforcement officials said Stenson's hands had been bound by plastic handcuffs and that his feet were tied together with shoelaces.

Stenson reportedly was shot twice in the chest and once in the head with a handgun.

When reached Saturday afternoon, a spokeswoman at the Maricopa County Medical Examiner's office said only that Stenson had been shot multiple times.

The investigation continues to focus on the three people now in custody. Kevin G. Riddle, 43, was arrested Wednesday while driving Stenson's bloodied SUV in Mesa, Ariz. He is charged with possession of stolen property and is being held on $10,080 bond.

Reginald A. Riddle, the 19-year-old half brother of Kevin Riddle, admitted involvement in the murder. He faces charges of murder, armed robbery, kidnapping and burglary and was being held on $500,000 bond.

The Riddles recently came to Arizona from their home outside Chicago. Griffith was released from an Arizona prison in March after serving two years for theft.

"How these guys got together is also something we're trying to establish," Franzen said.

The Salt River Pima-Maricopa Community authorities will hold Griffith, who is a member of the tribe, until he is extradited.

"They have a procedure there," Franzen said. "Obviously we're respecting their jurisdiction and their process."

Detectives also are looking into a possible relationship between Stenson's murder and another involving a 23-year-old man shot and killed inside a 1996 Buick on Monday.

Another point of possible interest may be a black Cadillac Escalade that a Mesa police officer saw at the Off Broadway Apartments before pulling over Kevin Riddle in Stenson's SUV two hours after the murder and 12 miles from the crime scene.

A leasing agent at that apartment complex in Mesa, where Kevin Riddle told police he found Stenson's SUV with the keys in it before driving off in the vehicle, was unaware of Stenson's murder.

The case could soon gain even more national exposure.

America's Most Wanted has contacted Chandler police about possibly featuring the crime on its television show as a way to help the investigation.

In the meantime, back in the neighborhood where the murder took place, everyday life continues on.

But not quite as usual.

"This is a really nice place," said Albert Granillo, a one-time Reds fan who lives on West Butler Dr. "What happened was a surprise. It's unfortunate and it's too bad."