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Suspect in court, linked by DNA to 2022 murder
Court heats up as Steven "Ras" DeLoach faces murder charges after being linked by DNA on a hat to the 2022 killing of Dominic Daughtrey. FOX 10's Brian Webb has the story.
PHOENIX - An arrest made in a murder that happened in June 2022 has one family a step closer to closure.
Dominic Daughtrey was found shot to death in a pick-up truck and although at the time the suspect got away, there was surveillance video from the crime scene and several witnesses.
A $10,000 reward also helped too, but in the end, DNA from a baseball cap cracked the case.
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Suspect makes a scene in court
"Seems like you guys have your mind made up already," said suspect Steven Rashad DeLoach while facing a judge and learning of his first-degree murder charge.
DeLoach, who goes by Ras, is not happy about it.
"You guys are talking like I’m guilty, right?" he goes on.
Dominic Daughtrey was found shot to death in his vehicle the night of June 22, 2022, at an apartment complex near 39th Avenue and Grand Avenue.
"Yes, looks like from all that I’ve seen. They got the right guy and so somebody that was willing to shoot someone yell and cold blood in and walk out stroll away from it that to me that somebody that probably done it before and probably will do it again," Dominic's father, David says.
What broke the case?
Police found a shell casing next to Daughterey’s truck, along with a blue baseball cap.
Police say DNA from a foil sticker on the cap puts DeLoach at the murder scene, along with surveillance video showing him wearing the cap before the crime.
It also shows him running from the scene without it.
Later, DeLoach's girlfriend said he admitted to the killing after seeing a report on TV.
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DeLoach’s defense? Deny - deny - deny.
"This crime wasn’t committed by me. Listen, I tell you I wasn’t on probation," DeLoach said during his initial appearance.
For David Daughtrey, an arrest won’t bring back his son, but it does bring a little peace of mind.
"Well, we were, we were happy, but it’s also gonna bring up a lot of sad memories of two years ago when he was first shot and killed. So it’s, yeah, it’s bittersweet," Daughtrey says.
Why was this crime committed?
As for a possible motive to all this, the victim's friend said Daughtry had been in a physical fight with one of DeLoach's friends and used a taser on him.
He claims DeLoach was dead set on getting revenge.
DeLoach will be in court again on October 16th.