In the early 90's crime was at an all time high in Boston. Rickey's family moved to the Fenway area away from the inner city neighborhoods. One of the only black families that lived in the area at that time. Rickey was the only young black man residing in the neighborhood. He was often suspected of any crime in the area. He recalls being stopped by law enforcement, and questioned at least 47 times in just a two year span!
On April 16th, 1997 Rickey made his daily stop at Christy's convenience store around 10:30pm. During the early hours of 1:00am-2:00am Rickey, his mother, and a family friend of hers that was living with them at the time, enjoyed drinks and food at a local pizza shop across the street from their home. They got in the house shortly after 2am, and Rickey's mother went to bed around 2:30am. The family friend who was living with them at the time, decided to go back out for cigarettes, and Rickey accompanied her. They were both seen on video surveillance at 2:40am at a nearby convenience store.