On September 19, 2024, at about 1:04 p.m., officers responded to the 2200 block of Botanical Drive in Killeen for a reported shooting. Eighteen-year-old Octavion Keshun Tucker was found with a gunshot wound and was airlifted to Baylor Scott & White Medical Center in critical condition. He was pronounced dead at 3:03 p.m. by Justice of the Peace Larry Wilkey, the city’s sixteenth murder of 2024.

The Killeen Police Department’s Criminal Investigation Division identified 19-year-old Austin resident Jacorri Zahary Stevenson as a suspect. A complaint was filed with the Bell County District Attorney’s Office and an arrest warrant was issued by Justice of the Peace Nicola James. Stevenson was taken into custody in Austin on September 21, 2024, transported to the Killeen City Jail, arraigned with bond set at $1 million, and later transferred to the Bell County Jail. A Bell County grand jury indicted Stevenson on December 4, 2024; he remained in custody as of December 27, 2024.

Anyone with information about Tucker’s death is asked to contact Crime Stoppers at 254-526-TIPS (8477) or submit a tip online at www.bellcountycrimestoppers.com. Did anyone in Killeen see or hear anything in the Botanical Drive area that afternoon?