Man sentenced to life behind bars in Tucson killing of Good Samaritan

Just before midnight on Dec. 23, 2024, someone came to Clifford's door asking for just that.

The stranger told him their car wouldn't start. It needed a jump.

The next morning, Pima County sheriff's deputies found Clifford's body along a dirt road east of Tucson. He had been shot in the face and his body had been set ablaze.

Now, 21 months later, Jack Upchurch, who was found guilty of Clifford's murder along with 10 counts which include robbery, evidence tampering, kidnapping and theft of means of transportation, was sentenced to life in prison in addition to shorter stints for other charges.

Clifford's family, who sat in the courtroom during Upchurch's nearly two-week trial in July, was not present during the sentencing. Thomas Bailey, an attorney out of Tempe, spoke on their behalf.

Whatever sentence is given, Bailey told presiding Pima County Superior Court Judge Richard Gordon, the family is still suffering an unimaginable loss.

And the loss wasn't just suffered by Clifford's family, Bailey said. What happened that night showed the entire community what could happen to someone who just wanted to be kind.

"That's why Paul — all the Pauls — are the people we need to protect," Bailey said.

Because of the severity of the crime and the number of lives ruined by Upchurch's actions, the only option is a sentence of natural life, which offers no chance of an early release, Deputy County Attorney John Strader said on the state's behalf.

Michael Harwin, Upchurch's defense attorney, in turn, told the judge that Upchurch had done very well in custody and had taken to acquiring his GED.

Upchurch's upbringing, Harwin said, was highly troubled. He grew up as an abused child in foster care and had substance abuse issues dating back to age 6.

A sentence of life, not natural life, would allow Upchurch a chance at an early release after 25 years served of the sentence, in addition to any other consecutive prison sentences. That, Harwin argued, would offer Upchurch the chance to have some amount of life left after prison.

"I still believe there's some hope and some redemption," Harwin said.

When Judge Gordon offered Upchurch a chance to speak, Harwin angled the microphone towards the mouth of his shackled client.

"I don't want to speak at this time," Upchurch responded in a soft-spoken voice.

"There's a severe emotional harm which is immeasurable," Gordon said. "In it of itself, it's a lifetime sentence for the victims in this case."

'Why are you doing this?'

While the family wasn't present for sentencing, they have been very vocal about the case.

On the second day of Upchurch's trial, Clifford's daughter, Sabrina Vining, recounted the last night she saw her dad.

Half asleep and donning pajamas, Clifford sauntered over to answer the knock.

Out of view of Vining and Christina, the unexpected visitor told Clifford about car trouble.

Clifford grabbed the keys to Vining's Ford Ranger and jumped into the driver's seat, leaving behind his wallet and phone. The supposedly stranded motorist sat in the seat beside him.

The two made their way down the roughly quarter-mile driveway and into the night.

Initially, Clifford's family wasn't worried. He was a 6'5" second-degree black belt. He could handle himself.

But after 25 minutes, Clifford's wife and daughter grew concerned.

Using an app on her phone, Vining checked her truck's location.

Once she saw her truck was over towards Redington Pass Road, she knew something was wrong and called 911.

As day began to break on Christmas Eve, the family's fears were confirmed. Next to Clifford's body was a smoldering GMC truck which had been reported stolen earlier that month.

On Dec. 30, 2024, one week after Clifford set out to do what would be his last good deed, the sheriff's department tracked three people to a residence near East Benson Highway and South Country Club Road. 

Upchurch, along with his then 19-year-old nephew and his nephew's 16-year-old girlfriend, barricaded themselves inside.

During the standoff, Upchurch took apart the gun he used to shoot Clifford, Scott told the court during Upchurch's trial. She said he hid the parts around the house and flushed the bullets down the toilet.

The three ultimately surrendered and were taken into custody.

Elmer Smith, Upchurch's nephew, and Wendy Scott, Smith's then girlfriend, were indicted on first-degree murder along with Upchurch.

In exchange for testifying against the eldest accomplice, Scott and Smith received plea agreements.

During Upchurch's jury trial, Scott told the court they had been driving the stolen GMC when it broke down because they had mistakenly filled it with diesel fuel.

Upchurch then set off alone to find someone, she said. 

After luring Clifford out of his house, Upchurch directed him back to where Scott and Smith were staying with the broken-down GMC, Scott said.

Clifford parked head-to-head with the dead truck and got out to help jump-start it.

At one point, Clifford walked back towards his daughter's Ford. Upchurch then pulled out a pistol and pointed it at Clifford's face, Scott testified.

"Don't even think about it," Scott recalled Upchurch saying.

"Why are you doing this?" Clifford reportedly replied.

Scott said she then heard a single shot ring out.

In an attempt to destroy evidence, Upchurch set fire to Clifford's body and the GMC, she said.

Upchurch then drove the stolen Ford along Redington Pass Road around Mount Lemmon back to Tucson, she said.

Paranoid that there was a tracker in the truck, Upchurch told his nephew to take apart the dashboard, she told the court.

Still fearful they were being tracked, Upchurch ditched the truck at an apartment complex near West Prince Road and North Romero Road, she said, where the sheriff's department later located it.

Upchurch then frantically called his girlfriend and asked her to pick them up, Upchurch's former girlfriend told the court last week.

Unsure what had happened or why she needed to pick them up, she said, she took the three to her friend's house where she had been staying.

For six days, Upchurch, Scott and Smith laid low in the house.

Then, on Dec. 30, 2024, the sheriff's department closed in.

Following Upchurch's guilty verdict, the pair were sentenced.

Scott was sentenced to a six-year probation term for vehicle theft and evidence tampering; Smith received seven years in prison for burglary and vehicle theft. 

Clifford's family has been outspoken about their frustration with the plea agreements.

"Next of kin have made very clear in the media they did not agree with the prosecutors’ strategy at trial," Pima County Attorney Laura Conover said in an Aug. 7 Facebook post following Scott and Smith's sentencing. "And while we made sure through hours of meetings, letters, and phone calls, including my own time as County Attorney to make sure every single one of their victims’ rights were followed, they remain deeply unhappy with the outcome, as is their right." 

"The prosecution may believe that a guilty verdict against one defendant proves that the truthfulness condition of the other defendants’ agreements was fulfilled," Christina said in an Aug. 8 Facebook post. "I do not. Especially when, in closing arguments, the prosecutors stated that they did not need the testimony of Wendy and Elmer. A verdict does not erase contradictions. A verdict does not tell me who actually did what to my husband. A verdict does not answer whether the people who received reduced charges and reduced sentences told the truth because it was true, or because it was useful to the State."

"Our hearts remain with the Clifford family and those who loved him. I send my deepest condolences and peace to them," Pima County Attorney Laura Conover said in a prepared statement after the sentencing.

She also praised the decision by her office to seek a natural life conviction.

"We are very selective and careful before sending someone to prison to die there, but this case qualified under our rigorous criteria."