Police say they found a man driving Dernell Stenson's SUV after the Reds prospect was killed.
By Associated Press
Published November 7, 2003
PHOENIX - Dernell Stenson wasn't even supposed to be playing in the Arizona Fall League.
The promising young Cincinnati Reds outfielder was a late addition when Wily Mo Pena was granted his wish to play winter ball in the Dominican Republic.
Early Wednesday, Stenson's body was found in a street in a residential neighborhood in the Phoenix suburb of Chandler. The 25-year-old prospect had been shot, then run over and apparently dragged some distance by his own SUV, police said.
A man driving Stenson's SUV two hours later, 10 miles away in Mesa, was arrested on suspicion of possessing stolen property.
Chandler police called the man, Kevin Riddle, 43, an "investigative lead." Police said Riddle was a transient.
"People are stunned," said Donnie Branch, Stenson's high school coach in LaGrange, Ga. "In baseball, we've never had a better player. People in the country hadn't seen that yet and he was fixing to prove what he really could do."
Stenson's body was found about 1:45 a.m. Wednesday after police responded to a report of shots fired. Witnesses told police that a black sports utility vehicle was involved and was seen leaving the area.
Mike Gallo, a Houston Astros pitcher and Stenson's teammate on the Arizona league's Scottsdale Scorpions, said the two had become good friends in the short time they had been together. He said Stenson had a 14-month-old child.
"He's just one of the most soft-spoken, athletic guys," Gallo said. "You just wouldn't imagine it could happen to someone like that."
Gallo said that after a day game on Tuesday, Stenson had gone out with some teammates "for a few drinks, to relax and just hang out." Stenson called him, apparently to ask him to come along, Gallo said, but he didn't answer the phone.
Gallo said it was a mystery how Stenson wound up in Chandler, several miles from the Scottsdale clubs the players frequent: "There's nothing out there. He had to be forced into doing it."
Stenson was claimed by the Reds off waivers from the Boston Red Sox on Feb.25. After seven seasons in the Red Sox minor-league organization, he made his major-league debut with the Reds, batting .247 with three home runs and 13 RBIs in 37 games. His last home run accounted for Cincinnati's final run of the season.
Stenson was having a strong season in the Arizona Fall League, where up-and-coming players are sent to hone their skills. He was batting .394 - third best in the league - through 18 games.
The fall league canceled games Wednesday and Thursday. Play was to resume today. Only a week of the season remains.
"I am terribly saddened by the sudden and tragic death of Dernell Stenson. My deepest sympathies go out to his family, his friends and his teammates," baseball commissioner Bud Selig said.
In LaGrange, which also produced Mike Cameron of the Mariners, Stenson was remembered as a popular all-around athlete.
"He was someone every mother would want their child to be like - a great student, a great athlete, a super young man," LaGrange High secretary Ellen Batchelor said.
