Conrado Pizarro, 26, was shot at a Shell station at Washington Street and Avenue of the States in Palm Desert on December 3, 2014, around 9 p.m. According to reports, after buying a drink he was confronted by a white SUV that cut off his vehicle. Pizarro reversed, approached the SUV and a brief confrontation followed; an occupant of the SUV fired into Pizarro’s car. His vehicle then hit a concrete wall, and Pizarro died of his injuries on December 5, 2014.

Investigators later arrested 18-year-old Kurtis Knigge of La Quinta after a high-speed chase in a stolen vehicle ended in Cathedral City. Knigge, who was on probation for a prior gun-related offense and wanted for burglary allegations, admitted to the shooting and implicated only himself, clearing a teenage passenger. He was charged with second-degree murder and shooting at an occupied vehicle; a jury convicted him of second-degree murder and in April 2021 he received 40 years to life.

The court record says the shooting began with a verbal altercation in the parking lot, though the exact nature of the dispute wasn’t established. Did anyone see Conrado at the station that night or know more about what led to the confrontation?