Who Were the Masked Men Seen Before Nick Cordova Was Killed? | Forensic Files

Hi Crime Junkies, I'm your host Ashley Flowers. >> And I'm Britt. And today's story begins
on a Wednesday evening in May 2020. It's just before 5:30 p.m. and Alicia Cordova is doing her dishes in her
kitchen when her 5-year-old daughter Capri comes running in from the hallway saying something's wrong with dad. She
hands mom her iPod touch saying that her and her brother were FaceTiming with their dad, 40-year-old Nick Cordova, but
then all of a sudden they heard a bang and their dad stopped responding. What Alicia saw and heard on that call has
haunted her every day for the six years that she's been fighting to get her husband justice. And despite a mounting
pile of circumstantial evidence that she's collected pointing to who might be responsible for his murder, no arrest or
charges have ever been made in this case. Now it feels like the only way that this case will ever be solved is if
we turn up the pressure on Gilbert Police Department. So let's go, Crime Junkies.
This is the story of Nick Cordova. May 27th, 2020, 17 hours 30 minutes 36 seconds.
It's at Gilbert Air and Air. >> 911, what's your emergency? This is Scott Air. >> Yes, there's someone I'm on FaceTime
with my husband. My kids are FaceTiming. Someone came in and started like beating
him. I think they have an address here. Address. He He's at Gilbert Air and Gilbert Air
and Gilbert Air. I don't I can't even look at the address right now. I'm freaking out. Is he at work?
Yes, he's at work. His address is 511 West Guadalupe Road number 13. Okay, 511 West Guadalupe Road? Yes.
Nick! Is he still there? I I can hear things moving around but I don't hear see anyone. Daphne, can you
please get out of the room, please, babe. Nick! And you're calling Scottsdale? I'm calling from Scottsdale. We are
FaceTiming, my kids are FaceTiming him, and then I just heard screaming. I thought it was a joke, and uh someone
Somebody came in. Okay, this is your husband's work, and is Gilbert there? >> Yes, my husband's work, Gilbert Air.
It's It's just him and his manager that work there, but someone came in, and I think they're just like beating him.
I'm pretty sure I saw a gun. I still have him on FaceTime, but I can't see anything. Babe.
>> Okay, are you hearing anything? I just hear moaning. I don't know if it's him or the manager or someone.
>> got I've got help on the way, okay? >> Hurry, hurry, hurry. Hurry, hurry, hurry.
>> Okay. The cops are coming, babe. How many people did you see in there? I didn't see anyone. I just saw like the
the phone like wrestling around, and then I'm pretty sure I saw a black glove or gun above.
I didn't hear any shots or anything though. I just I could hear him saying, "What like" yelling, screaming. Someone
was hitting him. Okay. My kids had the freaking phone, and they saw it. Okay. All right. Who's there?
Who is that? I'm on the phone. I have police on the phone. Who is that? It's a Who's there?
Pick up the phone. David who? Dave. Dave, pick up the phone. Got it. What is going on? Where's my husband? I
have the police on the phone. You don't know who that is? >> Nick? Do you know who this gentleman is?
He's He's not there? Someone came in. Is he okay? WHAT'S GOING ON? DAVE. Tell me what's
happening. Who is the guy you're talking to? >> coworker's there, his partner. Oh my
gosh, is he okay? Dave. Is that his coworker? Dave, tell me what's going on. Is he
okay? Ma'am, who is Dave? No. Can you please answer my questions? Dave is Dave's partner. Dave's partner
who just came into the building. I don't know. Okay, I need you to tell me what is
happening. I've got officers on the way. >> know. He just said, "OH MY GOD." HE GRABBED THE PHONE AND JUST SAID, "Oh my
god." Dave. Is he okay? IS HE BREATHING? DAVE, ANSWER ME. DAVE, IS HE OKAY? Is he okay?
Dave, what's going on? At this point, Alicia can't take all of this unraveling through a screen. So,
keeping the FaceTime going, she tells her kids to get their shoes on and rushes them into the car to drive to
Nick's office herself. During the 20-minute ride over as she is hauling down the freeway, Alicia is calling her
mom and then Nick's mom who calls Nick's sister and Nick's nephew, everyone she can think of who needs to know that
something is wrong. When she finally gets to the offices of Gilbert Air, the HVAC company that Nick owned with his
partner Dave Sweetman, she parks her car behind some bushes, kind of like away from the building because at this point
she is thinking that Nick might be hurt and she doesn't want her kids to see that if he comes out beat up or bleeding
or something. So, she gives them her phone to play on, tells them to stay in the car, that their dad is strong, he's
going to be fine, and then she beelines it for the building. And that's when she
sees the crime scene tape and what looks to her like a million police officers everywhere.
And her first thought is to look around for ambulances. Like if Nick was attacked, they should be taking him to
the hospital, but there isn't any ambulance in sight. And that's when Alicia starts running. She runs right
through the yellow tape yelling, "Where is my husband? What happened?" And officers are trying to hold her back,
but no one is answering her questions. She said she felt like she was standing there for 20 minutes just repeating,
"What the happened?" And after what feels like a lifetime, finally, an officer pulls her
aside and delivers one line that will change the trajectory of her life forever.
"I'm sorry to tell you, your husband's dead." And that's when Alicia just loses it. She just falls to her knees crying
uncontrollably and all while trying to make sure that her kids can't see her do it. Now,
officers write in their reports that Alicia is inconsolable and in disbelief of the situation, but even in her state,
she has the wherewithal to ask one question. "Where is Dave?" Is Dave still alive?
>> No, yeah, he is, but the way that they encountered Dave, and honestly, the whole scene is really bizarre.
So, according to the police file, when a Gilbert police officer arrived, the first thing he saw as he walked up to
the front door was someone like peeking through the blinds of the office window.
And as the officer got closer with his weapon at the ready, he heard a man saying through the window, like, "I'm
Dave. I'm Dave." So, the officer ordered Dave to open the door and come out, but
instead, Dave barely opens it, hands the officer a bloody gun by the barrel, and
said, quote, "I'm his partner. That's my gun. I'm sorry. Oh my god." Now, the officer put the gun on the ground
outside and then tried to open the front door to walk in, but it wouldn't budge.
>> Is Dave blocking them from coming in? No, Dave's not blocking them. Nick actually was. He He His body was lying
on the floor on his side with a pool of blood around him, completely unresponsive. And he had blood all over
his face, and it looked like there was a bullet hole in his left cheek. Now, I don't know what protocol is when you
need to get inside a crime scene and something at the scene itself is preventing that. Personally, I don't
know, I might have tried to find another entrance. >> Yeah. This officer though decided to just push
through the door until Nick's body moved enough for him to squeeze through. And once he's in, he saw a clear sign
there of a struggle. So, just to give you a picture, when you enter the front door of the office, you
walk into this little lobby space, and it has like a reception desk. From there, if you go through the first
doorway on the left, you can get to the office space where Nick and Dave's desks
were. Now, Nick's desk, when you walk through that entryway, it was the first one beyond the doorway, and Dave's was
about 12 ft away near the far wall. Now, according to the police report, Nick's desk had been pushed out of place, which
they can tell from like the indents that were in the carpet. And there are just these things strewn all over the floor,
like Nick's monitor, there's money, business cards, this black electrical box, a bag of what the report looks like
contraband. They find a human tooth, a potato with a hole gouged out of one side, and I've
seen people online actually take to assuming that maybe that potato was like used as a silencer, but that is not
stated anywhere in the police report. But there are multiple bullet holes around the room. So, there is one above
the light switch, there's another in the lobby desk, and then the window frame behind Nick's desk has one as well. Now,
I mentioned money, there is some money by Dave's desk, too. Though his desk itself appears, quote, not to have been
disrupted by the struggle. But the bottom right drawer is open, and inside of it is an empty handgun case and an
empty magazine. So, I hate to repeat her question, but I'm going to ask exactly what Alicia asked.
Where is Dave? Well, while one officer was getting his bearings, Dave was {quote} acting hysterical and pacing
back and forth. So, I mean right then and there another officer actually detained him and put him in cuffs. And
it's in that moment that Dave spoke up again. And he said {quote} "I'm his partner. Two guys came in here.
Two guys came in here. They left. They ran." {end quote} So, Dave's in cuffs. Is he being arrested? No, the officer
specifically informed Dave that he was not under arrest. He was just being detained for questioning. And right
there at the scene, Dave is Mirandized. And he gives kind of this hasty interview. And he says basically he was
at his desk when two Hispanic men wearing green shirts and face masks came into the building trying to sell Nick
Freon. Which Do you know what Freon is? Yeah, it's used in like older air conditioning units, right? I yes. I did
not know what Freon was. I had to look it up. But you're totally right. So, it's something that could be common like
or at least could be common to sell in an HVAC world, right? But what I found out was Gilbert Air definitely didn't
buy Freon like that. But Dave said that for some reason it looked like Nick knew these guys.
>> Knew these guys in masks? Well, when I say masks, I thought the same thing, but
these were COVID masks, not like ski masks. So, like >> happening like May 2020, right?
>> Exactly. So, I think you can kind of see a face where you could recognize someone. Anyway, Dave says that the men
said something to Nick and then there was some kind of commotion and then they turned to Dave and started pointing
their guns at him. So, Dave says he gave them his wallet and gave them the money
in his pocket, {quote} everything he had, and then the men hit him in the back of the head with what Dave thought
was one of their guns, and then they fled the scene. Wait, so when was Nick shot then?
Well, Dave says he doesn't know. Says that he never even heard a gunshot. >> Did they
>> knock him unconscious? He He doesn't know. He's just like He's just basically
saying he doesn't remember much after he got hit in the head. Now, aside from Dave, there was no one else in the
office at the time of the shooting. The office manager who worked there, Lynn, she gets to the scene once she gets word
about everything that's going on. And she tells police that when she left work that day at around 5:00, only Nick and
Dave were inside. But, she knows what Alicia and Dave all know. That there are several surveillance
cameras inside the building, which Dave says should have recorded everything. So, while Gilbert PD sends an analyst to
the scene to review that footage, an officer escorts Dave to a patrol car so they can do a more formal interview with
him down at the station. But, right about then comes the first sign that something might be off. Because remember
how Dave said that he gave the intruders his wallet and his money and his pockets
and >> Yeah, he said that he gave them everything he had, right? >> Exactly. Well, imagine this officer's surprise
when he's patting Dave down and finds more than a thousand dollars cash in his front left pocket.
Some cases fade from headlines. Some never made it there to begin with. I'm Ashley Flowers and on my podcast, The
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When Dave is confronted with the fact that his story is already crumbling, he clarifies to the officer, "No, they
didn't take all my money. I only gave the suspects the money in my front right pocket."
>> But that's not what everything I have means. >> not. And how much cash is this guy
keeping in like all the pockets of his pants? I think that would have been a great follow-up
question to ask, but I don't see that being asked in the records that I have. So, Dave gets driven down to the station
and just after 7:00 p.m., that's when he's interviewed. And his story now is this. It was a robbery gone wrong. Dave
says that he was getting ready to leave work when the crime took place. So, he says he sees Nick on the phone as he's
walking towards the exit, waves, gives him a fist bump as bros are known to do. >> Naturally. But then when Dave got to the
front door, he realized that he had like forgotten a bill on his desk or something. So, he turned around and then
just as he started looking for this thing on his desk, he heard the front door chime. And then he looked up and
saw the two men. One of them, he says, approached Nick with what looked like a box of Freon and then the yelling and
fighting started. David looked up from his desk, saw one of the men coming toward him with a gun pointed at him,
and then Dave says that the man told him to get on the ground and give him his money, which Dave did. Kind of. He kind
of. And then the man hits Dave on the head, which he says might have knocked him unconscious because then he really
doesn't remember anything after that. And listen, officers do find that Dave has a cut on his right hand and and on
the right side of his head. So, then Dave had to have been unconscious when Nick was shot. Well,
except his story keeps going. And now he says that he heard Nick in a struggle and then he also heard a loud bang, but
that he didn't see anything because all of his focus was on the guy that was robbing him.
And he says he really came to again when he heard Alicia yelling for Nick through
the FaceTime call. He could see and hear Alicia, but he wasn't sure if she could see or hear
him. So, holding the phone, Dave walked out to the lobby where he found Nick shot and bleeding. He says he put the
phone down to check Nick for signs of life, but got nothing. And that's when he says he went back to his desk to get
his handgun and check for suspects in the rest of the building. And when he got back to the lobby, that's when first
responders arrived and he handed them his now bloody gun through the crack of the door. Now, Dave says he didn't
notice anything distinguishable about the suspects who robbed him, other than the fact that one's gun was {quote} big
and black and it made him follow the suspects orders. And what's Dave's gun look like? It's a 9 mm SIG SAUER that he
says he got a month ago as a result of this child custody issue he was having with the woman who
I guess he had previously had an affair with this woman. They had a child. We tried reaching out to her. She declined
to speak with us because the custody battle that he {quote} got this gun for was actually still ongoing.
>> Like now, like 6 years later? Yes, still in in the custody battle 6 years later.
Now, Dave says that he always kept his gun in that desk drawer and he has never fired it, not even today. But that day
in the office, he had chambered a round while he was checking the place for suspects. Okay. So,
you mentioned it before, I have to bring it up. Just give it to me. What's on the surveillance videos?
Because like they should be able to tell us if his story is like lines up with that, right?
>> One would think because there are surveillance cameras basically all over this building. The lobby's got one, the
warehouse, even the outside. The one place that doesn't have a camera is the office space where according to Dave the
struggle took place. Why? I don't know. We asked Alicia, Nick's wife, and she said she had no
idea. But even she thought it was kind of odd that's the one place that didn't have a camera. But listen, the cameras
that do exist might be able to confirm some things. Officers at the crime scene start reviewing the tapes like within
hours of being called to the scene. And they mostly do corroborate Dave's story.
Two suspects entered the building. One was holding a box of Freon, but they're actually on this footage able to see
that the box was empty. It had some kind of panel cut out of it and they were using it to conceal the gun when they
first came in. And they see that there is some kind of commotion and yelling that can be heard
off camera, presumably in the office. And then Nick is seen running out of the office into the lobby toward the front
door, and that's where he ends up getting shot. Can you see the shooter? You can. Because he shoots Nick in the
lobby right in view of the cameras. Officers also note that right after the shooting, they can hear Dave saying,
"Help me." off camera. Now the outdoor camera then shows these two suspects like leaving, driving away from the
scene right at 5:31 p.m. And they are in a red and silver Ford F-150. It has no front license plate, of course. And I
asked like what year it was. It looks like it was like pre-2003. So a little bit older for the time. And
there is faded paint on the roof of it. I just don't know the exact year, but this is like an older
older model. So, based on these videos, Dave was telling the truth. Yeah, at this point
investigators write in the file that after seeing the surveillance footage, they no longer suspect Dave in the
homicide. However, quote, "His involvement remains unclear." End quote. >> Meaning
what? They did not elaborate. I mean, I'm assuming they don't believe that he shot the gun, but maybe they are not
eliminating the possibility that he was involved in some other way. Which like makes sense, right? Like why else would
you lie about the money in your pocket? Like there's just like that's weird, right? Yes.
I have left something out. So, there is another red flag, too. When Alicia was first told that her husband was dead,
she didn't just ask, "Where's Dave?" Her full sentence to police was, "Where's Dave? He probably had something
to do with this." When she was able to be interviewed that day on the scene, she elaborated on why
that was her first thought. And when our reporter Nicole Kagan spoke to Alicia this year, she gave us the full
backstory. So, everything I'm about to say comes directly from her and from police documents. She said that a few
years before all of this, back in 2017, Nick's passion was personal training, but he had been doing HVAC work for a
while and decided around that time that he wanted to be his own boss, like run his own company.
So, it felt like perfect timing when that year this guy named Frank, who Nick used to go riding like in the dunes
with, told him that he owned half of this successful company called Gilbert Air, but he was burnt out and he was
looking to sell his share for actually super cheap. Hm, super successful, but super cheap.
Feels like a red flag to me. And well, there was a red flag that Frank was pretty upfront about. He told Nick that
he had a co-owner who was basically like the money guy while he ran the business,
but this co-owner, Dave Sweetman, was a quote shady POS, and so that's why Frank
wanted to get out. Shady how? He didn't really specify, but if you look up Dave's records, you'll see charges for
assault, disorderly conduct, a bunch of driving infractions, fraud, and trespassing among other things. Now,
Alicia and Nick didn't know these specifics, but regardless, Nick was the kind of guy who
loved rising to a challenge. It's something that was like instilled in him from childhood, being raised by a single
mom who had him when she was just 16. Nick's grandma and grandpa actually helped raise him, and when his mom later
had two other children with men who were not the most present, Nick sort of took
on the father figure role to raise them. So, Nick chose to see this as a golden opportunity. He got another one of his
friends to buy in, too, so they would each own 25% of the company, while Dave Sweetman would keep the remaining 50.
But less than a week before the deal was going to be signed, Nick's friend dropped out. Said that he just got this
weird feeling. >> A weird feeling about Dave? No, not what he said. Just a weird feeling that he
was worried about the business not succeeding, and he didn't think that he could make a big leap like that. It's a
It's a big deal. >> Mhm. But this wasn't for Nick, and he wasn't going to let this be a deal
breaker. Remember, the guy liked a challenge. So, he just decided to do it on his own. Alicia, though, she was more
wary of Dave. But Nick managed to convince her that everything was going to be okay, great, even. He was over the
moon to have something that was his, and seeing how excited he was, how could Alicia not support him? So, the deal was
done, and Nick took an ownership stake in 2018. And at first, everything did seem good.
Alicia said that Nick very much kept his like business and personal lives separate. For 2018 and 2019, she barely
even met Dave, only ever was around him like three times. Things seemed to be going smoothly. But then, about 6 months
before Nick would be killed, things started unraveling. Out of nowhere, Nick came home one night and told Alicia, "I
know it sounds crazy, but I'm telling you, I feel like someone's been watching me." Which at the time, Alicia said that
she just kind of brushed off because like it it just sounded so absurd. And she just tried to comfort Nick, reassure
him that like everything was fine. But then Alicia tells police that 3 months after that, in March of 2020, Nick told
her that Dave took $30,000 out of their company account, which he had never done
before. And when Nick asked him about it, Dave said that he had this debt that he had to pay, but he would replace it
before payroll was due. And that's when Nick told Alicia, like, "I think I need to get out of this business with this
guy. I don't know what I got myself into." And he told her that he thought Dave was doing something possibly
illegal with the other companies that he owned. And like he's like, "I don't know
what's happening, but like I don't want any part of whatever it is." Now, Alicia
said Nick's stress level went through the roof at this point, but it only got worse come April. When Dave not only
doesn't pay back the money that he already took, but he takes out another $15,000 from the company. Then in May,
Nick told Alicia again, "I just can't shake this feeling that somebody is watching me." And then what he said next
came out as a joke, but there's nothing funny about it now. She told police that
he was worried Dave would quote, "Hire a hit man to take him out so Dave could collect the insurance money." End quote.
What insurance money? Alicia had the same question when Nick said that. Like, "What do you mean insurance money?"
>> Yeah. And that is when Nick first told her that at some point Dave told him that to protect the business, like for
each of them, Dave and Nick should take out life insurance policies against each
other. >> And is that something that Dave had when the previous owner, that Frank guy, was
there? No, but not for a lack of trying. According to the police file, Dave repeatedly tried to get this Frank guy
to do the same thing, but Frank refused, telling Dave that he wanted to be worth
more alive than dead. Good advice. >> Especially when you have a shifty business partner. Now, hearing about
this policy at the time, I mean, it really shook Alicia because she said Nick was not a
warrior. He never seemed to get stressed about anything. But after he told her that he was just like tossing and
turning in bed the whole night. So, by the time Memorial Day weekend came around, Nick was in dire need of a
reset. So, the Cordova family decided that they were going to take a camping trip
together. According to Alicia, when they got back on Monday night, she and the kids begged Nick to just take the next
day off so they could just like keep this family time going. I imagine that it probably felt like this great
reprieve, right? And he did, which made Wednesday Nick's first day back in the office after that long weekend. And that
is the day that he would be killed. So, what did the office manager have to say about Dave? I mean, she's there on the
scene by the time they're hearing this from Alicia, right? >> They talked to her on the scene when she
arrives, too, and Lynn is her name, and she told police that her and Dave didn't
get along, but she did say something strange. She said that like recently he had been acting strange. Like he started
coming into the office more frequently and being more like friendly to her, though he would mostly just ask about
money. Lynn said that he seemed, quote unquote, obsessed with money, and she would hear him yelling at Nick about it.
And here's the really interesting thing that she added when she was talking to police. So, the day before the shooting,
that would have been Tuesday, May 26th. This is the Tuesday after Memorial Day weekend. Now, Nick was supposed to be in
the office that day, but as we know, he makes this last-minute decision to stay home with his family.
But apparently, that whole day, Dave kept asking Lynn over and over, like, "Where's Nick? When's Nick going to get
in? When's he getting back?" And she just said that Dave kept like pacing back and forth and leaving the office
for like short periods of time. And she tells police that when Dave came in to work the day of the shooting, he was
quieter than usual, and he wasn't joking around like he usually did. And at one point in the day, he and Nick closed the
door to their office, and it sounded like they were having an argument. But Lynn was listening to the radio, so she
couldn't hear exactly what it was that they were saying. Now, I have to mention, officers weren't just asking
Lynn about Dave. They also asked her about Alicia and Nick's relationship. And Lynn says that she wished her and
her husband had a relationship like theirs. She said that Nick was giving and kind, and she didn't know a single
person who didn't like him. And this is a common theme, by the way. Another employee says that everybody
loved Nick, and he never saw him get angry or even like raise his voice once at work. And by the way, if it wasn't
already clear what kind of guy Nick was, Alicia said that she and at least 50 other people stayed at the crime scene
that whole first night refusing to leave until Nick was brought out. They waited
in the parking lot until the sun came up. And that whole time, Alicia was still asking officers where Dave was and
telling them that she believed he was responsible for Nick's death. But once they reviewed the surveillance footage,
they told her that he wasn't the one who killed Nick, that he was released, and that there was nothing they could do.
What do you mean there's nothing you can do? I mean, no one's proven to me that he wasn't involved. Just because there
are two other guys can't mean he's cleared. I mean, they're only hours in at this point. Plus, Alicia literally
told them Nick was worried about Dave hiring a hit man. These are the exact reasons that Alicia is frustrated. She
doesn't understand why nothing more can be done and why no one seems to be giving her like an adequate explanation.
So, over the course of like 12 hours or so, she pleads with them, throwing out everything she knows about the insurance
stuff and suggesting a hit for hire until around 6:00 a.m. when Nick is finally wheeled out of the office in a
body bag. Officers give Alicia his keys and his wallet, which by the way, his wallet
still has money in it, but they tell her that they have to take his wedding ring
to test for DNA. Why just his wedding ring? >> I was just going to say, we asked
Alicia, she doesn't know why. I'm assuming that they collected maybe things that they thought would be the
most likely to have like a salient DNA on it and maybe it was clear like the wallet wasn't touched or something. I
don't really know. Which would make the robbery theory even harder to buy. >> 100%. So, Nick is taken away and
regardless of what the police were telling Alicia about Dave and the surveillance video,
I mean, at that point she's terrified. So, she immediately goes to the Scottsdale police station to file a
restraining order against Dave. But, since Dave hadn't actually been charged with any wrongdoing at that
point, she's told that like she doesn't really have any grounds for that. However, hearing the circumstances of
her husband's death and you know, hearing why she's scared, detectives do tell her that actually keeping a line
open with Dave might be helpful. Maybe Dave will communicate with her, say something to her that changes things or
conflicts with his original story. And listen, this guy's instincts, whoever told her this, like they weren't far off
because three days later, Dave does reach out to her. Not to talk about the case, but to ask if he can help with
funeral arrangements. But Alicia is in no place to try and like use this and play detective right now. Like she can't
even stomach the guy. Especially not offering to help with the funeral of her husband who she is like suspicious he
may have had killed. So, Alicia declines. And in fact, she tells Dave, "It honestly be best if you don't attend
the funeral at all." At this point, Alicia and her children are staying with her cousin. And then after that, with
Nick's cousins. Then after that, Nick's cousins and friends like take turns sleeping on her couch with a gun at the
ready. Because Alicia is still terrified of someone coming after her and her children. She doesn't know when she'll
ever feel safe again, but she definitely doesn't right in the aftermath when whoever was behind Nick's murder is just
out there. So, what are Gilbert police doing to find those men on the video footage? Well, starting on the morning
that Nick's body was removed from the building, they did begin like canvassing the neighborhood. But it seems like the
only real lead that they get is like figuring out that it was that red and silver truck. So, they spend over a week
searching not only for the truck itself, which was again like I said this older two-toned red and silver extended cab
Ford F-150, but they are also going to all of the surrounding businesses looking for
witnesses or additional surveillance cameras that may have captured the people or the truck. And they actually
did end up hitting Payless at the AM PM about 2 minutes down the road from the office. Not only does the convenience
store have surveillance footage of the truck in question, they also have surveillance footage of one of the men
who was inside of it. On June 12th, just over 2 weeks after the shooting, Gilbert PD releases the
footage from the AM PM to the public to see if anyone can identify the mystery man who they say was in the passenger
seat of this vehicle that they're looking for in connection to this case. >> Wait, when is the footage from? So, the
footage that they get is from the day of the shooting. Actually, just literal minutes after the shooting based on the
timestamps. And listen, I got to say this is close to if not the clearest image of a
suspect's face I have ever seen from surveillance footage in a case. Like anyone who knows this guy would be able
to recognize him instantaneously, which makes it so wild to me that they're not putting it out to the public until June
12th. But, in the footage, here is what we see. So, this truck in question pulls up
to a pump at the gas station literally 2 minutes after the shooting. Then, there is a guy who police describe
as about 5 ft 8 with a heavy set build, wearing a dark colored t-shirt, blue jeans, and dark colored boots that gets
out of the truck and walks through the gas station parking lot up to the door of the AM/PM, and then enters the store
at 5:33 p.m. He goes to the counter where we get this direct shot of his face from a camera that must be like
over the counter somewhere. Now, he talks briefly with the clerk, and then he goes out, fills his tank before the
truck pulls out at 5:36, and all we know is that it drives northbound. >> I mean, do we know what he said to the
clerk? Nothing important. Um the they talked to the clerk and they said that this guy was like a
non-conversationalist, just like you know, 10 bucks on pump seven kind of guy. And he, of course, paid cash, and
they're like, "Listen, I probably at this point couldn't even pick the guy out of a lineup." So,
is this a third guy, or did the shooters change clothes cuz they weren't wearing
those like bright green shirts in the video from the business? >> No, you're right. They they don't think,
at least from I can tell, they don't think this is a third man. They think whoever this is took off the mask and
either removed the bright green shirt or like switched outfits or whatever. But this is the guy that they're looking
for, or one of them. Now, Alicia, Lynn, and other employees at Gilbert Air all are shown this gas
station footage, but no one recognizes this guy. Not even Dave? He tells Alicia that he didn't know him either. If tips
come in from the public about who this man is, Alicia is never told about it. And I can't tell you about it because
that info about the surveillance footage, that is the last piece of information that comes validated from
the police file. Everything else in the file is redacted. Like we're talking over 200 pages of just blacked out
everything. I mean, do they give Alicia any updates? Well, early on in the investigation,
Alicia said that there was one Gilbert like PD detective who she met with every couple of weeks who seemed really
invested in the case. He gave her a full case update around the one year mark through this like PowerPoint
presentation, and she felt hopeful. Like maybe the wait would be worth it, and all of the months of waiting and fear
were going to like lead to something because this guy promises her that arrests are going to be made. But then,
in a story that has become all too familiar, two weeks after that meeting, she basically gets a call notifying her
that that guy's off the case. The new detective says that the original guy got moved down to patrol, and when
she asks if like that happened willingly, the new detective was basically like, "Yeah, you know, like
sometimes being a detective can just take a toll on people, and it's not uncommon for people to have to take a
break." But Alicia has always suspected that the demotion was because maybe that first
guy, that that one detective who showed her the PowerPoint, maybe that guy told her too much. Or worse, maybe he screwed
something up with Nick's case. Now, we did reach out to Gilbert PD for comment, and they said that they are still
actively investigating, but cannot disclose further information at this time. So, wait, did did they look into Dave
Moore and like all all the insurance stuff? Like, did he get a payout when Nick died?
So, as far as I can tell from the file, police did a follow-up interview with Dave Sweetman and even his girlfriend,
Susan, and that was in August of 2020. I have no idea what came of that. As for the insurance stuff,
that would go on for years. It started though, just 5 days after the shooting. That is when Dave texted Alicia this
string of messages about signing some documents for the claim. And Alicia, who lost her husband 5 days
ago >> in in front of Dave. Yeah, who is worried that he was killed for insurance
money, was like, "No." Maybe like, not now. >> "How about you let me bury my husband
first and then I'll figure all of this out." But Dave comes back to her and he's
like, "Okay, but like, just so you know, you should be getting around like $500,000."
Now, Alicia, she didn't know anything about these policies, but in her mind, she's thinking like, "Okay, like the
policy pays out to the business. Nick owned half of the business, so it must have been a million-dollar policy,
right? Split 50/50. Makes sense." But, just to confirm, she decided to go checking through Nick's emails. And
that's when she found out that there was another policy. And both policies together would pay out not $1 million,
but $8 million. >> What? So, Alicia refuses to sign the documents, which according to her does
not sit well with Dave. He goes off on her about how she's like making this so difficult and that it's really Nick's
fault for not having mapped everything out for her. And that's when Alicia had had enough. She gets a lawyer of her own
and decides to push back. Now they find an agreement that Nick signed when he bought into the business,
which stated that in the event of a death everything would be split 50/50. So like 6 months after the shooting,
Alicia's lawyer is like, "Okay, listen. Now that we have this, you can sign the documents and then we can file this
claim. Done and done, right?" Wrong. As soon as they filed, they get a call from the insurance company that's
confused. Because they say, quote, "We already got your signed documents." >> Mhm.
What do you mean they already got her signed documents? Alicia has no idea what they're talking about. She's like,
"This is the first time I've ever signed anything. If you have signed documents,
somebody forged my signature." And the company's first question is, "Well, do you know of anybody that would
want to do that?" I mean, I have some thoughts. >> Alicia can think of only one person.
Dave not so sweetman, which is what she has taken to calling him by that point. >> So what does this mean for Alicia? Can
she Can she still get her half of the money? Well, so what what ends up happening is she files a police report
claiming that Dave forged her signature, but weeks later she's told that there's
not enough evidence to charge him. And even though she has that document stating that she's meant to get half of
the insurance payouts, there are loads of other documents with stipulations that her lawyers and Dave's lawyers like
just cannot seem to get on the same page about. So after three more years of legal back and forth in 2024, Alicia and
Dave finally get everything settled out of court and each receives an undisclosed payout.
So, while all of that was going on, was Gilbert Air still like in business and operating?
>> Gilbert Air ran out of money like nine months after Nick's death and they had
to end up closing. Even though there was supposedly an $8 million payout to the business when Nick died. Yeah, I don't
know what Dave did with the money that he got or like if it got tied up at some point. But for some reason it doesn't
seem like it was used to keep that business operational. The one that Nick and now his family owned half of.
Instead, Alicia says that you know, when it after Gilbert Air closes down, Dave took the client list and started a new
business called Arizona Family Air that the Cordovas have no stake in and he continues to run it out of his house.
Continues like like to this day? >> To this very day. We called the company for comment, but
as of this recording, we have not heard back. Dave and his girlfriend Susan didn't
respond to us either. Though Dave did tell Fox 10 Phoenix back in 2024 that Nick's case was {quote} the most
traumatic ordeal he's experienced. {end quote} Over the years, Nick's case starts
cycling through different detectives. Alicia continues trying to meet with whoever is on the case every few months,
but it's just so hard for her to believe them when she keeps hearing the same thing. We're rechecking things. We're
relooking through evidence. But each time nothing happens. To this day, she's still never been
given a copy of his autopsy and we couldn't obtain it through public records requests either. Authorities
have also never released any kind of results related to firearms or firearm testing. Like, I don't know what kind of
gun was used in the shooting still. And I don't know if they ever confirmed Dave's story that the gun he handed over
to them had never been and I was >> to say, if they haven't released what kind of gun was used on Nick, they don't
know that it was like we don't know that it wasn't. >> Right. According to the police file, I
know they got some lab results back in July of 2020. Now, what items were tested and where? Can't tell you. That
is all redacted and they have never shared that information with Alicia. The only unredacted part says that the
only DNA profiles on the physical evidence collected belongs to either Nick or Dave.
But the thing to remember is without context, that could mean nothing. They both worked in that office. So, if items
were tested that are like regularly used by both of them, like that doesn't mean
anything. Yeah, and even without someone else's DNA, like I keep thinking about the guy on the
surveillance footage. Like, how have they not identified him? >> I know. I know. Alicia cannot help but
wonder. Like the only thing she can think of, I should say, is like every She thinks
like every time this case is handed to someone else, maybe things are like slipping through the cracks.
>> of telephone. Yeah, and like she told us that there have been specific case details that she's mentioned while like
speaking with detectives and they've been like, "Oh, we didn't know that." Which is like not the thing you want to
hear from the guy in charge of solving your husband's case. And listen, people all over the internet have been quick to
call out Gilbert PD for all sorts of things, alleging corruption and dirty police work. Just look up the Gilbert
Goons case if you want to get an idea. There is no proof of anything like that that we know of. But I can say that the
department is extremely protective of their public records. And this is not the first case of theirs that we've even
covered. I mean, you know, a couple of months ago we released an episode on the 2022 shooting of Rachel Hansen. And her
family expressed the same frustrations that Alicia has with Gilbert PD. And what's more, in February of 2026, this
article came out in the Arizona Republic by Marisa Dominguez saying that the Arizona Attorney General's office is
reviewing claims that the town of Gilbert may have illegally destroyed or withheld police records, which is an
allegation that could have huge implications for unresolved cases in the community
like Nick's. >> Yeah. Now, as of this recording, the Attorney General's review has not confirmed any
illegal destruction tied specifically to any of these cases. And Gilbert PD has denied all allegations of destroying or
withholding records. But trust that we will be following this very closely. But this experience that she and others
have had with Gilbert PD is one of the many reasons that Alicia began asking the department if she could see the
surveillance footage from Gilbert Air herself. They say no to her a couple of times,
but Alicia was not playing around. She put in a formal records request, hired a lawyer, and in an absolutely shocking
turn of events, the PD actually agreed to let her see it. So, in March of 2025, she went into the
station with Nick's mom, and together they sit down and watch this video. And Alicia notices a number of things on the
footage police have that were not included in the report. She told us that right before the shooting, when Dave was
getting ready to leave the office, he went to the front door and like peeked through the blinds.
And you can see the red and silver truck pulling up on the outdoor camera as he does this. And then he walks back into
the office. And Alicia is literally like in the police department. I mean, can you imagine? She's like viewing this
footage, and she's like, "Guys, pause the tape." That's like the way she says. And she's like, "Isn't that enough right
there? Why would he be peeking through the blinds unless he was like expecting somebody?"
>> Yeah, and his story is that he went back into the office because he forgot something, right?
>> That's what he told police, which like whatever, maybe. But like, tell me, how
many times have you like peeked out of the blinds before you leave the office at night?
>> Only if I was waiting for someone. >> Yeah. And as Alicia continues watching,
she sees the two men arrive in their bright colored shirts, masks, and she sees that they have gloves on.
>> Which explains the lack of suspect DNA at the scene. >> Yes, and she says that they're wearing
these like big construction hats, too. Now, she says one guy is tall and slender, the other is a like chubbier.
>> And I'm assuming that's the one that's caught on the tape. That's my >> guess, yeah. And then, of course,
everything happening in the office we know is off camera, but guess what? She says there's audio. Alicia says that she
can hear Nick on the phone with her kids, and then all of a sudden, you can hear a commotion and Nick just yelling
for help. And what about Dave? She says she doesn't hear Dave saying anything. And then all of a sudden, like Nick
comes into view, he's like running through the lobby, and she says that he was really close to the door when the
suspect comes up behind him and just execution-style shoots him once in the back of the head, causing him to fall to
the ground. And that was it. I can't believe she had to watch that. >> I can't believe they let her watch that.
Because like to her, I mean, not only is it like traumatic, but like it just confirms everything
that she's been feeling. >> this just makes her more suspicious of Dave, who to this day still has not been
charged or even named publicly as a person of interest or a suspect in this case.
>> Which I how? I mean, from the jump, the PD ruled him out as the shooter from the surveillance
footage, and according to Alicia, they never had been able to find a paper trail between him and the two suspects.
Okay, but what's the cash situation though? Like, where did the $45,000 go that he took out from the company
before all this happened? Like, can we trace where that went or where every penny of the insurance payout went?
Like, you're not writing checks to hit men, right? >> Right. This is like I would be looking
for missing money. Also, I don't understand how they can say that like, oh, like we can't find a paper trail
between the two suspects when it's like, you don't know who the two suspects are.
Like, Right. The paper trail could lead you to them. Like, >> Yeah. To me, in order to rule out a
connection definitively, you would have to dig deep into this man, right? Like, do a financial audit almost.
>> forensic accountants for a reason. Not like you have to do more than one follow-up interview, which is like I see
a follow-up interview. Again, lots of redacted stuff in the file, and I don't know what are in those pages. There are
over 200 of them, remember? But even 200 pages, it doesn't feel like enough if they were to have investigated
Dave or even his like past financial crimes. I forgot about those. Like, he had a a history of like scammy [ __ ]
Like, fraud and stuff. Like, yes, please dig into those. >> Yes, someone's past can tell you a lot
about them, which is why we felt it necessary to look into Dave's past to tell this story.
>> Always go a layer deeper. And listen, what our reporter Nicole found sent us headfirst down a rabbit hole that we
could have never seen coming. You see, it turns out nearly 7 years before Nick was shot, someone else close to Dave
died under mysterious circumstances. Now, this wasn't mentioned in the police report or online news coverage of Nick's
case at all. In fact, there is no media coverage of this other case at all. And that other case
is the death of Laura Sweetman, Dave's wife. What? What we found needs an entire
episode of its own. So, Crime Junkies, come back next Monday to hear Laura Sweetman's story. Or, you
can listen to it right now if you're in the fan club. And if you're not a member
of the Crime Junkie fan club, now is the perfect time because now through April 14th, you can join the Crime Junkie fan
club for free. So, check out the link in our show notes to get your first month on us.
Listen, make no mistake, Alicia isn't going away. She feels like it's up to her to keep Nick's story alive, and she
does every press interview she can. She posts on TikTok. She continues meeting with the police department, and she'll
keep it all going until the people who killed Nick are finally behind bars. So, if you have any information about
the 2020 death of Nicholas Nick Cordova in Gilbert, Arizona, you can reach out to the Gilbert Police Department at
480-503-6500. Or, if you prefer to remain anonymous, you can reach out to Silent Witness at
480-948-6377. The posted reward for information is now up to $20,000. And as always, you can
reach out to us by emailing tips@audiochuck.com. You can find all the source material for
this episode on our website crimejunkie.com. And you can follow us on Instagram @crimejunkiepodcast.
We'll be back next week with Laura Sweetman's story, but don't forget, you can listen right now by joining the
Crime Junkie fan club. Link's in the show notes.

On May 27, 2020, in Gilbert, Arizona, 40-year-old business owner Nicholas “Nick” Cordova was attacked inside his HVAC company, Gilbert Air, while on a FaceTime call with his young children. What they witnessed, and what his wife Alysha Cordova heard in real time, would change their lives forever.

Surveillance footage confirms two masked individuals entered the building. Minutes later, Nick was shot. His business partner, David Sweetman, was the only other person inside at the time.

At first, the case seemed straightforward: a violent robbery. But the deeper you look, the more questions surface: Why was money left behind? Why did David Sweetman’s story change? Why was he still carrying over $1,000 after claiming he handed everything over? And why had Nick expressed fears about his business partner in the weeks before his death?

Investigators recovered clear surveillance footage, including a suspect seen at a nearby ampm gas station on West Guadalupe Road just minutes after the shooting. Yet, years later, no one has been identified or charged. As Alysha pushed for answers, even more troubling details emerged including a multimillion-dollar life insurance policy between business partners, allegations of missing company funds, forged documents tied to insurance claims, and another unexplained death connected to David Sweetman’s past

Despite repeated calls for action, the case remains unsolved. If you have any information about the 2020 death of Nicholas “Nick” Cordova in Gilbert, Arizona, you can reach out to the Gilbert Police Department at 480-503-6500. Or if you prefer to remain anonymous, you can reach out to Silent Witness at 480-948-6377

Key Episode Moments: 0:00 Intro 1:23 911 Call 4:36 The Scene at Gilbert Air 6:45 Partner’s Story: David Sweetman 11:14 $1,000 In Cash 13:19 Surveillance Footage 19:25 Missing Company Funds 24:20 Life Insurance Policy 32:31 The Gas Station Footage 43:13 Pause the Tape 49:11 Outro --------

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About Ashley Flowers Ashley Flowers is the top female podcaster in the U.S. and the host of Crime Junkie, the #1 podcast among women and the #1 true crime podcast globally. As the Founder of audiochuck, she has built a top-tier podcast production company that has garnered over 2.6 billion downloads, captivating audiences with its gripping storytelling through 10+ chart topping podcasts. Ashley and her team are dedicated to creating responsible true crime content that respects victims and their families.

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Check out these other great crime channels: @kallmekris This Murder Case Has A Terrifying Plot Twist... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1uyFjka0RXo @annieelise Married Nurse’s Secret Affair Ends in Brutal Murder | Linda Campitelli https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JarGZ14ftTA @christinaarandall Bizarre "Family Feud" Contestant Snapped on Wife When He Couldn't Control Her! Rebecca Bliefnick https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I8BdW76J1iA @bellafiori The Case of Susan Smith https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bJ3l14IO-V8&t=1s

Brief Summary

Alicia Cordova fights for justice after her husband Nick is murdered in a suspicious incident involving his business partner Dave Sweetman.

Key points

A Family's Nightmare Begins. Alicia Cordova receives a horrifying call about her husband Nick's fate.
The Unraveling Story. Dave, Nick's partner, gives a bizarre account of the events leading to the shooting.
Alicia's Suspicion. Alicia questions Dave's involvement after learning of her husband's death.
Nick's Business Deal. Nick sees an opportunity to own a business, but red flags emerge.
Nick's Growing Paranoia. Nick expresses fears of being watched and concerns about his business partner.
Insurance Policies Uncovered. Alicia discovers life insurance policies worth $8 million tied to Nick's death.

Episode highlights

Episode quotes

What happened?

Alicia's desperate plea at the crime scene.

5:53WatchApr 6, 2026

Tension

75/ 100High tension

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