Lea County Sheriff’s Office investigators arrested Steven Nave, 38, of Lovington, on Saturday, August 12. Nave has been charged for the murder of Clinton Holladay, also 38, of Hobbs.
The arrest is the outcome of an incident on July 17, 2021. At about 3:30 pm on that day, Lea County Sheriff’s Deputies responded to “a reported gunshot victim and a motor crash” in Hobbs in the area of Grimes Street and Cope Place, states a press release that the Lea County Sheriff’s Office posted on Twitter.
After arriving at the scene of the incident, sheriff’s deputies discovered that Holladay, the driver of the vehicle involved in the crash, had suffered a gunshot wound to the head. Holladay was taken to Covenant Hospital in Hobbs. “He later died as a result of his injuries,” states the press release.
While at the scene of the incident, sheriff’s investigators observed that a blue Dodge pickup had collided into a tree. Investigators also learned that a female witness, Tracy Summers, 28, of Hobbs, was “a passenger in the Dodge pickup at the time of the incident,” states the press release.
Summers told investigators that she and Holladay had been followed by Nave, who was driving a silver, four door Ford Taurus. She and Holladay were travelling south on Grimes Street when they realised Nave was following them.
Summers told investigators that [because Nave was following them] she ducked down in the passenger’s seat of the Dodge pickup and that Holladay told her that Nave was coming up on her side of the pickup. She stated that she, then, ducked down even further in the passenger’s seat after which she “heard a pop and ringing in her ears.” Holladay, then, “fell on top of her.” Summers reported that she attempted to gain control of the steering wheel of the pickup but that she was unsuccessful and that the vehicle ran into a tree.
Summers confirmed that Nave was her ex-boyfriend with whom she had lived until a week before the incident. She also said that after leaving Nave she was “staying” with Holladay.
Video surveillance footage that was gathered from area residents and street cameras show a silver Ford Taurus in the area as the incident unfolded. It also shows the vehicle driving away from the scene.
Sheriff’s investigators later learned that a rifle used in the altercation possibly could be found at a location on Wilkes Road in Lovington. They were able to locate the rifle, a black, 9mm Hi-Point.
Nave is being held without bond in the Lea County Detention Center. In addition to 1st Degree Murder, he is charged with Tampering with Evidence (3rd degree felony), Firearms or Destructive Devices, Receipt, Transportation or Possession by a Felon (3rd degree felony), Bribery or Intimidation of a Witness and Retaliation Against a Witness (3rd degree felony).
Long time friend of both families and Hobbs resident Wince White said on Facebook that he has known Holladay and Nave since they were little boys and that the actions of Nave “do not represent the values and beliefs of his family.”
Another friend Diane Searcy stated on Facebook, “This really just breaks my heart. I have known Steven for the majority of my life. This is not the same person I knew. It’s so sad what drugs and a bad situation can do to someone’s mental state. Poor Clint didn’t deserve this. And none of either family. Such a tragedy all the way around.”
