Steven Nelson, 49, was shot on February 28, 2017, at the Estancia Apartments on Verbena Drive in Desert Hot Springs, California, where he had been living for a few months. The altercation involved his roommate, 50-year-old Brian Keith Hernandez. Testimony at trial described Hernandez demanding that Nelson and Nelson’s girlfriend move out because of the girlfriend’s drug use; an argument in the kitchen escalated and Nelson was shot in the back of the head. Nelson was taken to Desert Regional Medical Center in Palm Springs and died the next day.

Hernandez told officers he had shot Nelson and was found pacing outside the complex; prosecutors presented a recorded statement in which Hernandez warned Nelson he would be forced out or that it would go down the next night. Hernandez testified that Nelson had threatened him and was reaching for a knife, while the defense highlighted Hernandez’s physical disabilities and the size difference between the men. The jury convicted Hernandez of second-degree murder and assault with a gun, and in April 2018 he was sentenced to 54 years to life in state prison.

Are there readers who knew Nelson or who were familiar with the Estancia Apartments and the people involved who can share information about what led to this confrontation?