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'Won't sleep until we get justice:' Cocoa man's homicide unsolved weeks after shooting

De’Shaun Stewart, 20, killed February 17 in west Cocoa

COCOA, Fla. – Weeks after a young man died in a shooting at his next-door neighbor’s house, investigators still don’t know who shot the 20-year-old.

The Brevard County Sheriff’s Office said De’Shaun Stewart was shot around 12:30 in the morning on Feb. 17 on Ellis Drive in the Lakeview Estates neighborhood.

There’s no information from the sheriff’s office about the circumstances of the shooting.

“Everybody’s telling different stories, right now,” cousin Chiquita Holmes-Conner said. “We just know he was shot.”

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Stewart’s family told News 6 reporter James Sparvero no one who knows what happened is talking to investigators.

“Somebody knows something, and if it was their child, they would want somebody to say something,” Holmes-Conner said.

Stewart’s mother talked about how painful it’s been not knowing who shot her son.

“Hurt, angry, I just want the person that did it to come to justice,” Shanova Stewart said.

The family said Stewart went to Merritt Island and Palm Bay high schools and was a football player.

“Loving, had the brightest smile ever,” Niesha Stewart described her nephew as she held a picture of him. “Walk in the room, just light up the whole room.”

“He was a good young man, no criminal records, nothing,” Homes-Conner added.

The sheriff’s office said the investigation is ongoing and active, and investigators are working to learn the circumstances.

Dispatch recordings on Feb. 17 said first responders were called to a battery in progress.

“RP [reporting person] is advising someone got shot,” a dispatcher said. “Male is standing outside saying he was shot. They don’t know what happened.”

Stewart’s funeral will be on Saturday.

The family said they will move forward together through prayer.

“We have to stick together,” Holmes-Conner said. “This family won’t sleep until we get justice.”

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About the Author
James Sparvero headshot

James joined News 6 in March 2016 as the Brevard County Reporter. His arrival was the realization of a three-year effort to return to the state where his career began. James is from Pittsburgh, PA and graduated from Penn State in 2009 with a degree in Broadcast Journalism.

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