Ballistics Help Solve Boise City Cold Case
KSCB News - February 14, 2019 8:51 pm
After years of questions, the family of an Oklahoma man shot and killed in cold blood finally has answers.
The Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation (OSBI) Cold Case Unit has three people in custody following the 2013 murder of a man in Boise City.
Charles Nieman, 77, was getting gas with his wife on June 12, 2013, at Loaf ‘N Jug in Boise City, when they were approached by a man who pointed a gun at Nieman and demanded his wallet.
Nieman was hard of hearing and became confused about what the suspect was asking.
Within seconds, OSBI investigators say the suspect shot Nieman in the head. Nieman’s wife was unharmed.
The suspect fled on foot. The vehicle the shooter arrived on scene in also drove away from the gas station.
After years without leads, OSBI arrested three men in the crime.
Zachary Wilson and Timothy Dees were both arrested in Mobile Alabama.
Mobile County Sheriff’s Office, United States Probation and Parole and the U.S. Marshal’s Fugitive Task Force assisted OSBI in the arrest.
Days later, on February 8, 2019, Jeremy Scott,33, was arrested in Adams County, Colorado for his involvement in the murder.
Investigators say all three suspects know each other, two are related.
The recently formed OSBI Cold Case Unit is now focusing on more than 1,200 cases that have since faded from the spotlight since 1950.
The OSBI Cold Case Unit was able to connect all three suspects to the murder through ballistics imaging technology. The shell cases discovered from the 2013 crime scene partially matched a casing that had been entered by the Denver Police Department.
OSBI investigators say the gun used in the murder was stolen from a police officer’s home in Port Allen, Louisiana.
The suspects then stole a vehicle a few houses away, the same vehicle that was seen driving away from the Boise City shooting.
Investigators also learned the suspects committed an armed robbery in Conroe, Texas. The motive behind the crime spree, OSBI says, is drug related.
Police continue to investigate. It is possible more crimes could be related to the suspects.