Police still looking for clues 15 years after Glendale teen’s murder

PHOENIX — Fifteen years after a teenager was shot and killed near downtown Glendale, police have not been able to find whoever killed him.

Stephone Wickware, 17, was shot multiple times about 10 p.m. on March 27, 2003, near 59th Avenue and Glendale Road. He was pronounced deceased on the scene.

His mother, Tonya Busby, spoke at a press conference Tuesday to ask whoever shot and killed her son to come forward.

“I was really mad at the person that did this, but as time has gone on, I’m not mad anymore,” she said. “I’m hopeful, but I’m not mad at the person that did this. I just want him to come forward.”

She explained that her anger waned after she realized that “no matter how mad I get, it’s not going to bring him back.”

Wickware’s sister, Latreese Tools, described him as “a good brother who took care of anyone he could.”

Stephone Wickware (Glendale Police Department Photo)

“No matter how down you were, he would always be there to lift you up,” she said.

Tools said her family has not lost hope of finding the man who shot and killed her brother.

“It’s been 15 years already and we are a family that won’t stop,” she said. “We’re not going to give up. We’re not going to take a break. We want answers.”

Several witnesses told police they saw Wickware running eastbound along Glendale Avenue just before he was shot. He appeared to be trying to get away from the suspect, who was described as a Hispanic man in his 20s with a mustache.

Glendale police said the suspect was wearing black clothes and a black bandana on his head. He took off on a small bike after the shooting.

Anyone with information was asked to call the Glendale Police Department at 623-930-3000 or Silent Witness at 480-WITNESS.

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