Alonzo Dukes was found dead inside his Leland, Mississippi, home in early February 2017 after friends and business partners went to check on him when he became unreachable and failed to appear at either of his offices. Responding officers discovered Dukes lying in a pool of blood after what investigators described as a violent struggle. Several valuable items were missing from the residence and Dukes’ blue van was gone and later listed as stolen.

The stolen van was recovered in Little Rock, Arkansas, and the driver, Leonard Stevenson Jr., was taken into custody for possession of the vehicle. Stevenson initially denied involvement but later confessed to the robbery and killing and was charged with capital murder. At trial in February 2022, a Washington County jury convicted Stevenson of capital murder; he was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole, to be served consecutively with another life term from a separate killing.