It has been nearly three years since a 22-year-old Navy man was gunned down at his La Mesa apartment, and police are still looking for those responsible.
Investigators hope offering a $15,000 reward — money pledged by the victim’s family, as well as the Navy and San Diego Crime Stoppers — will persuade someone with information to come forward.
Corneilius Donte Brown was killed shortly before 12:30 a.m. on April 24, 2021, when he answered an unexpected knock at his front door on Echo Court. As he opened the door, he was confronted by two masked men, at least one of whom was armed. The gunman fired several times, striking Brown.
Several people called 911, summoning police and paramedics. They rushed Brown, who was shot in his upper body, to the hospital, but he died during surgery.
Corneilius Donte Brown, 22
(San Diego Crime Stoppers)
The assailants, who were wearing ski masks and black hooded sweatshirts, were last seen running south on Echo Court and then east on Echo Drive.
Brown had been hosting a gathering of friends — a mix of Navy and civilians — when he was fatally shot.
He was a petty officer working as an aviation ordnanceman 3rd class assigned to the San Diego-based aircraft carrier Abraham Lincoln.
Police interviewed all the people who were at the party and checked the area for surveillance video, but none of that has led to a suspect in the case, said La Mesa police Lt. Katy Lynch.
“Someone knows something, and hopefully we can encourage that person to come forward and share information that leads to an arrest,” she said. “We would love some information that points us in the right direction.”
She said the motive for the shooting remains unknown.
Brown joined the Navy after high school in South Carolina.
“If you talk to his mom, he was friendly, a well-mannered kid,” Lynch said. “Very involved in high school and athletics.”
Lynch said she hopes the additional reward money will help police get a break in the investigation.
In October 2021, Crime Stoppers announced it was offering a $10,000 reward in the case — $1,000 from Crime Stoppers and $9,000 from the victim’s family. The Naval Criminal Investigative Service has since pledged $5,000.
Under the Crime Stoppers program, tipsters are rewarded for any information that leads to an arrest.
“Our hope is by increasing this reward that someone will be willing to come forward and share the truth so we can get answers for this kid’s mom,” Lynch said. “She has lost her only son, her only child.”
