In the early morning hours of June 1, 2018, 42-year-old Edward Rowland Jr. was found with a fatal gunshot wound at an apartment complex in Yuma, Arizona. Officers responding to reports of a fight and gunshots rushed Rowland to a local hospital, where he was pronounced dead.

Authorities identified John Nate Gardea as the person who shot Rowland. Gardea told police he went to Rowland’s apartment to retrieve personal property he said Rowland had stolen a week earlier and that an argument escalated into a deadly confrontation. Witness testimony at trial included the apartment manager, who heard gunshots and saw Rowland with another man but could not definitively identify Gardea; a friend of Rowland’s who described a past violent incident involving Rowland; and Gardea’s sister, who said her brother had been threatened and that some of his items were found in Rowland’s apartment.

Gardea faced a high $500,000 bond because of multiple prior felony convictions. He was charged with first-degree murder, convicted of second-degree murder, and an appeal was later filed and resolved. Does anyone have information about Rowland’s last known movements or the people he associated with in Yuma?