On Thursday evening, July 2nd, Humboldt County Sheriff’s deputies were dispatched to a business in Blue Lake at 9:45pm regarding a report of an armed robbery with shots fired according to a Humboldt County Sheriff’s Office press release.
Deputies arrived on scene and located a male subject with a gunshot wound to the chest. First responders immediately attempted to secure the area and performed lifesaving efforts on the subject, however, the male succumbed to his injuries on scene.
Humboldt County Sheriff’s Criminal Investigators responded to the scene to investigate the death as a homicide. Further investigation revealed that at about 9:40pm the subject approached an employee and a patron of the business outside, brandishing a firearm in an attempt to rob the store. The employee and patron fled. The man entered the store and proceeded to steal cash and other items.
As a result of their investigation, investigators believe that as the man exited the business, the employee, later identified as 39 year old Mark Anthony Nelson Jr., approached the subject and shot him. A stolen firearm believed to be associated with the homicide was recovered at the scene.
Nelson Jr. was arrested and booked into the Humboldt County Correctional Facility on charges of murder, possession of stolen property and being a convicted felon in possession of a firearm. He is being held without bail pending arraignment.
The Humboldt County Coroner’s Office is working to determine the identity of the decedent.
