Cincinnati Reds Player Found Slain

PHOENIX – A man found driving a vehicle that belonged to slain Cincinnati Reds outfielder Dernell Stenson (search) was booked on a charge of possession of stolen property, police said Thursday.

Kevin Riddle, 43, was jailed Wednesday night about two hours after Stenson was found dead in the street in the Phoenix suburb of Chandler, police said.

Riddle is not a suspect in Stenson's death, said Chandler Police Sgt. Mark Franzen. Franzen called Riddle an "investigative lead" in the case.

Police said they didn't know if the two men knew each other.

Stenson's body was found Wednesday by police responding to a report of gunfire. He appeared to have been shot and run over by a car, authorities said. Police were treating the death as a homicide.

Stenson, 25, was one of the Reds' most promising young players. He made his major league debut this season and played 37 games for the Reds. He hit .247 with three home runs and 13 RBIs — his homer accounted for Cincinnati's final run of the season.

"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 (search) said.

Donnie Branch, Stenson's high school coach in LaGrange, Ga., said he'd pegged Stenson as a star early on.

"He's the only kid I've ever coached and said, 'That guy will make it to the big leagues,"' Branch said.

Stenson was playing this month for the Scottsdale Scorpions (search) of the Arizona Fall League.

It was unclear when the last time an active major league player was the victim of a homicide.

Atlanta pitcher Dave Shotkoski was shot to death during an apparent robbery in West Palm Beach, Fla., on March 24, 1995. Former big league shortstop Gus Polidor was shot to death in April 1995 in Venezuela shortly after being cut by Montreal in his comeback bid.

And California Angels star Lyman Bostock was killed by a shotgun blast in September 1978 in Gary, Ind., while riding in a car.