Kriti Mehrotra
It was in July 2021 when the entire world turned upside down for the Gambles family as 32-year-old Steven Christopher Gambles Jr. was found horrifically murdered right inside his vehicle. This much has even been explored in Investigation Discovery’s ‘See No Evil: The Wrong Look,’ all the while shining a light upon the how, why, and whom behind this truly senseless offense. After all, no one could have ever imagined that a night out to have dinner with a close friend would culminate in the death of a pillar of society, with a stranger being responsible for it all.
Steven Gambles Died From a Gunshot Wound to the Head
Born on January 31, 1989, in Denton, Texas, to community activist Phyllis Gant and educator as well as local minister Steven Gambles Sr., Steven Gambles Jr. had a comfortable childhood. There was stability, laughter, affection, and a sense of unwavering support in their home, which also included his younger brother Marcus, enabling him to pursue his dreams without hesitation. So, by the time the early 2020s rolled around, the self-proclaimed engineered artist was a designer, photographer, and entrepreneur operating his own business dealing in leather bags.
By this point, Steven also wasn’t married, nor did he have any kids, but he was reportedly in a happy relationship with Brittney Curlin and was really planning on building a life alongside her. However, the rug was pulled from underneath their feet in the early hours of July 8, 2021, hours after he had left his Plano, Texas, home to have dinner with a friend at a local restaurant called Benihana. As per records, the duo enjoyed their meal as normal before the hobbyist creative walked his friend to her car and then made his way to his own, only to be fatally shot in the temple mere minutes later.
It was around the middle of the night when police officers found Steven inside his car with a single gunshot wound to the head, following which they ascertained he sadly could not be revived. His brother was the first one to be informed of the terrible ordeal, and he subsequently broke the news to his parents, who were left completely shattered because it was all so sudden as well as senseless. That’s because they knew the 32-year-old had no enemies and was not involved in any sort of dangerous or illegal activities, driving investigators to also focus on other possible motives for his killing.
Steven Gambles Was the Victim of a Robbery Gone Wrong
That’s when officials decided to gather surveillance footage from all nearby stores, considering Steven’s car was parked in plain view of them, which immediately broke the case wide open. It came to light that a man in a long-sleeved security jacket, dark pants, and a mask hiding half his face had been circling the victim’s vehicle for two hours before coming face-to-face with him. During this period, the former had even gotten into the unlocked white Mercedes and stolen the firearm safely kept in the console, which was later used as the murder weapon. Detectives used this same footage, along with others from the area, to track the suspect to a nearby apartment, which helped them identify him as Jordan Christopher Jacobs. Further investigations revealed that he had walked past Steven outside a Mini-Mart that evening, at which point he believed the latter had been looking at his girlfriend.
Therefore, the then-24-year-old told his partner he was going to rob the stranger as punishment, following which he went home, changed into a disguise, and lurked around the car he had clocked as his target’s. Yet, when Steven refused to cooperate with Jordan’s demands upon returning two hours later, he had his own gun pulled on him, resulting in chaos that ended with the former being heinously shot dead. The latter promptly fled the scene, unaware that surveillance cameras were inadvertently tracking his every move, even as he rushed into his building a few blocks away and ran upstairs to his apartment. His face was still covered at this point, though, so officials actually checked the building’s cameras at other points during the day, which is how they were able to find and identify Jordan as well as his girlfriend.
Jordan Jacobs is Currently Facing the Consequences of His Actions in Prison
With the surveillance cameras providing clear evidence, Jordan Jacobs was arrested at his home merely 14 hours after the fact, and his girlfriend was also brought in for questioning. While the latter almost immediately revealed the truth, he initially told detectives they had the wrong man, as they had mistaken him for someone else with the same name, asserting there had to be a misunderstanding. Yet, as they persisted, he broke down and confessed that he had indeed shot Steven, even though his intent was just to rob him because he wanted to “teach him a lesson” for allegedly looking at his girlfriend the wrong way.
Hence, Jordan was charged with capital murder, to which he swiftly pleaded not guilty and was consequently detained at Collin County jail without bond while awaiting a jury trial. His trial commenced around 14 months later in October 2022, only to conclude with a verdict of guilty as charged, owing to the mountain of evidence as well as testimonies against him. He was later sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole, and his subsequent appeal was also denied. Hence, today, at the age of 27, Jordan Jacobs remains incarcerated at the John T. Montford Unit in Lubbock, Texas, where he is expected to remain for the rest of his natural life.
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