Former Deputy Convicted For OC Murder Dies On Death Row

ORANGE COUNTY, CA — A death-row inmate who transformed from a Los Angeles County Sheriff’s deputy into a career criminal with a penchant for violent robberies while wearing a wig was found dead in his cell last week, according to the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation.

Stephen M. Redd, 78, was discovered unresponsive in his cell and was pronounced dead by medical staff at about 12:38 p.m. on Thursday. Redd was housed at San Quentin Rehabilitation Center since his sentencing for the murder of an Orange County supermarket supervisor on Feb. 28, 1997.

Before his final sentencing, the jury found Redd was previously convicted of five serious or violent felonies including additional armed robberies at other stores in Orange County.

"He was convicted of first-degree murder, second-degree burglary as a third striker, first-degree robbery as a third striker, attempted murder as a third striker, and second-degree robbery as a second striker," officials said.

On July 18, 1994, Redd entered an Alpha Beta market at about 10:40 p.m. wearing a woman's wig, employee Brenda Rambo testified to the court. At the time, the only employees in the market were Rambo and her supervisor, Timothy McVeigh.

Rambo testified that Redd originally attempted to purchase a pack of gum and asked her to break a dollar to get her to open the cash register. With the cash register open, Redd reached across the conveyor belt and removed a tray of cash from the drawer as he pointed a handgun at Rambo.

"Rambo testified that the robber did not appear to be nervous," court documents said.

As Redd removed cash from the drawer, McVeigh approached and grabbed the robber's left wrist, which caused a struggle for a short period of time. The physical altercation escalated when Redd shot McVeigh, causing the supervisor to step back and fall down a few feet away.

Rambo said Redd then turned the gun on her again before leaving the store with the money he removed from the cash register, which totaled about $156 according to court documents.

"She described the man as 'calm' after McVeigh was shot and testified that he turned and left the store with the money he had removed from the tray," according to court documents.

After the shooting, police responded to the market's call for emergency assistance and found McVeigh lying on the floor bleeding out while Rambo stood beside him "screaming and crying."

Redd was arrested on March 6, 1995, in San Francisco when an officer conducted a traffic stop on his vehicle due to a car registration tag being affixed poorly to the license plate. The police officer said Redd refused to provide any vehicle registration information or his driver's license, so he was advised to step outside the vehicle and placed in handcuffs.

After conducting a search of the vehicle and Redd's person, the officer found Redd's driver's license and learned he was wanted for murder and robbery in Orange County. The officer also found a semiautomatic pistol with a laser light attached, an AR-15 rifle and wigs in the trunk of the car.

Redd attended the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department Academy in 1967 and was assigned to the Firestone Station. He later resigned from his employment at the sheriff's department around the same time he separated from his wife, his family members told the court.

The former deputy was sentenced to death in 1997 and remained on death row until the State of California instituted a moratorium on the death penalty in 2019.