The suspect in a Thursday morning robbery and fatal shooting in Decatur is considered the prime suspect in a killing in Huntsville about 30 minutes earlier, according to authorities.
Law enforcement agencies continue to look for Ricardo S. Bass, 40, of Huntsville, in the slayings of Mark Allen Nicholson, 54, of Hartselle, and Jeffrey Carden, 31, of Huntsville. Capital murder warrants for his arrest have been obtained in both cases, Huntsville and Decatur authorities said.
On Friday afternoon, the U.S. Marshal’s Service said it is offering a $5,000 reward to anyone with information leading to the arrest of Bass.
Decatur police said they received a call at 6:20 a.m. Thursday about a fatal shooting at the Wavaho Food Mart at 707 Wilson St. N.W. When they arrived, they found Nicholson dead.
At 5:50 a.m., Huntsville police received a call of a homicide and robbery on McVay Street, southwest of the Huntsville Metro Kiwanis Sports Plex, according to Huntsville police spokesperson Sydney Martin.
Martin said Carden was fatally shot in a parking lot on McVay Street when he was picking up a co-worker for work. She said the Huntsville Police Department’s major crimes investigators believe the shooting and robbery were random acts.
“We don’t believe the victim and suspect knew each other,” Martin said.
A news release from the Huntsville Police Department said once Huntsville investigators heard about the shooting in Decatur, they contacted Decatur police and obtained video evidence from the Decatur shooting. It helped determine Bass’ identity, the release said.
“Our investigators learned Ricardo Bass has ties to Huntsville including a previous arrest in the general area where (Thursday’s) murder happened,” it said. “… Bass was named the primary suspect.”
The sites of the two homicides are about 24 miles apart.
Court records lists addresses in Southwest Decatur and Northwest Huntsville for Bass.
A short time after the shooting at the Wavaho, Decatur police began inspecting an abandoned small white Chevrolet in the 110 block of 12th Avenue Northwest near Moulton Street. Police spokesperson Irene Cardenas-Martinez on Friday confirmed the vehicle had an out-of-state license tag and “was being investigated as possibly the suspect’s vehicle.”
The car was found 1.7 miles from the Wavaho fuel station.
“Investigators believe it was a random killing,” Cardenas-Martinez said. “If that was his car, he fled on foot, but I have no more details.”
While an employee at the Wavaho station said business was slow early Friday, at least one customer said he was not concerned about the shooting there.
“I’ve got no worries,” said Brad Bennett of Huntsville, who works at an industry near the Decatur store. “(The owner and family) are good people, and (the store) is convenient. I’ll keep coming here.”
Station owner Dilipkumar Patel on Thursday said the suspect purchased beer and a cigar moments before allegedly shooting Nicholson three or four times in the chest. He said Nicholson was pumping fuel into a truck when he was gunned down.
“The guy pulled the gun and shot him like three rounds,” Patel said. He said the suspect then searched through Nicholson’s pockets. “He pulled the pockets and he found something and he ran out.”
Bass is considered armed and extremely dangerous, authorities with both police departments said.
Cardenas-Martinez said anyone with information regarding Bass’ location should contact Detective Joshua Daniell at 256-341-4644 or email jdaniell@decatur-al.gov. To leave an anonymous tip, call 256-341-4636, she said.
According to court records, Bass was out of jail on bond on a first-degree robbery charge from an incident that took place at a Texaco station on Sixth Avenue Northeast in Decatur on April 14.
According to an affidavit filed by Daniell in the Texaco incident, Bass brandished a handgun and took money and a wallet from a male victim. Daniell said Bass was identified when authorities reviewed video surveillance. He was charged with robbery on April 20 and placed in the Morgan County Jail. According to jail records, he was released on April 30 on a $200,000 bond.
A Nicholson family member Friday said the family is asking for privacy and had no comment.
Peck Funeral Home in Hartselle said Nicholson’s funeral will be 11 a.m. Tuesday at the funeral home chapel with burial to follow in the Hartselle City Cemetery. No visitation is scheduled.
