BLACKFOOT — A 16-year-old Blackfoot teen faces a first-degree murder charge after telling police he fatally shot a 30-year-old woman in what he described as a revenge killing, court records show.

Bobby Grant Jackson was arrested in Pocatello during the early morning hours of Oct. 24. He has been charged with first-degree murder in the death of Rebecca Rivera, telling police detectives he shot and killed her because he believed her brothers had killed his friend, according to police and court records the Idaho State Journal recently obtained.

Jackson is being held at the 3B Juvenile Detention Facility near Idaho Falls on $1 million bond.

Gun theft preceded murderThe violent chain of events began to unfold on the afternoon of Oct. 23 when Jackson allegedly stole a handgun from a co-worker at a state mental health facility in Blackfoot, police said.

At approximately 12:53 p.m., a Blackfoot police officer responded to the report of the stolen gun at State Hospital South on East Alice Street, the probable cause affidavit states.

The man who owned the gun told the officer that Jackson, who was a newer employee at State Hospital South, had asked to use the restroom, police said. A short time later, the man went to his work truck and noticed Jackson was not around.

The man then checked his lunchbox that was in the truck and noticed his handgun was gone, telling the officer he was sure the gun had been stolen.

The officer then went to the halfway house on North Shilling Avenue where Jackson was residing, police said. An employee there said residents were tracked through an app, which showed Jackson’s location at a gas station on South Broadway Street. The officer later observed him at the gas station when reviewing its security camera footage, according to the police report.

The officer returned to State Hospital South and reviewed security camera footage that showed Jackson getting into the work truck, then going into the back seat and grabbing something out of it, police said. The officer then distributed a photo to law enforcement showing what Jackson was wearing.

According to court records, Jackson had been relocated to the Blackfoot halfway house after getting in trouble in Twin Falls for pointing a fake gun at someone’s head during a theft.

The shootingAdditional security camera footage from a collision repair business on South Broadway captured Jackson walking north toward the mobile home park where Rivera resided at 12:41 p.m. Oct. 23, police said.

Around 4 p.m. Oct. 23, Blackfoot police were dispatched to a report of a death at the trailer park on South Broadway, court records show. Upon arrival, officers found Rivera deceased in the back room of her mobile home, police said. She had what appeared to be a gunshot wound to her head. Officers also located a spent shell casing on the bed, the police report said.

Police detectives responded to the residence and met with the victim’s mother and father, who stated they had walked over to the residence after their granddaughter called them because her mother had not picked her up from school, police said.

While on scene, detectives spoke to neighbors and showed them a photo of Jackson. A neighbor who lived nearby said he had seen Jackson outside his residence asking for a ride to Pocatello, police said.

The manhuntAdditional police detectives and officers were called in to help locate Jackson, leading to an intense manhunt that involved law enforcement from multiple East Idaho agencies.

After the shooting, Jackson fled on foot. By 3 p.m. Oct. 23, he had made it to Chubbuck, where witnesses spotted him near Walmart. Police issued urgent text message warnings to the public, describing Jackson as “extremely dangerous” and possibly armed and urging residents to lock their doors and remain vigilant.

Jackson was located by police and arrested without further incident at a Pocatello residence early on the morning of Oct. 24.

Forensic evidence and confessionPolice detectives followed up with the gun’s owner and gathered the same 9mm ammunition he stated was in the handgun when it was stolen, police said. Detectives then compared the bullets and observed a matching pattern from the shell casing found at Rivera’s residence, police said.

After he was taken into custody, officers interviewed Jackson and he confessed to the killing, police said.

According to Jackson’s confession, he approached Rivera and asked for a ride to Pocatello. When she refused, he told police he shot her in the head. But he later provided additional details showing the killing wasn’t random, telling police detectives he recognized Rivera and targeted her intentionally, according to the police report.

Jackson stated in his confession that after Rivera declined to give him a ride, he said, “(expletive) it,” and decided to fatally shoot her.

Jackson told police detectives he recognized Rivera and believed her brothers had killed his friend, the police report said. When asked by detectives if he intended to kill Rivera as payback, he confirmed he did, saying “I put a bullet in her brain,” court records show.

Court proceedingsJackson was initially charged with second-degree murder Oct. 23. However, as more evidence emerged, the Bingham County prosecuting attorney elevated the charge to first-degree murder Oct. 24, court records show.

Jackson was scheduled to appear in court again Nov. 6 for a preliminary hearing that would have involved local prosecutors attempting to prove there is enough evidence against him to elevate the case from magistrate to district court level for trial.

That hearing has since been vacated and he is set to appear in front of 7th District Magistrate Judge Cleve Colson Nov. 3 after a motion to disqualify 7th District Judge James Howard Barrett was filed and granted Monday. The motion to disqualify was filed without cause.

If convicted of first-degree murder, Jackson faces a maximum sentence of life in prison. While first-degree murder is typically a capital offense in Idaho, U.S. Supreme Court case law says it is unconstitutional for defendants younger than 18 to face the death penalty.

Police credited swift cooperation from community members in Blackfoot, Pocatello, Chubbuck and Fort Hall as critical in leading to Jackson’s arrest.