Three suspects facing charges in fatal shooting of Southeast High grad

Three suspects from Bradenton are facing murder charges in the death of a 19-year-old Southeast High graduate.

Keives Brooks, who was a student at Tallahassee Community College, was found shot dead outside an apartment in the 400 block of Putnam Drive around 8:45 p.m. Sept. 19, according to the Tallahassee Police Department. His 19-year-old brother and a 19-year-old friend were also wounded during the shooting.

Reginald Brown, 21, Demarlis Martin, 19, and Davaris Dawes, 19 — who all are from Bradenton as well as the victims — were arrested earlier this month. Each is facing one count of second-degree murder and two counts of attempted first-degree murder.

All three are being held without bond at the Leon County jail, according to the Leon County Sheriff’s Office jail records.

Brooks’ mother, Jocelyn Pitts, said her family is grateful that an arrest has finally been made.

“We just hope to get the justice we deserve. Keives was the baby of the family, so of course dealing with this is hard on everyone,” Pitts said in a statement to the Herald. “It’s not fair to us to take such a loss for no reason, especially if you knew the kind of person Keives was. To know him is to love him … literally. Keives had a heart so big and filled with much love, and he don’t deserve any of this.”

The family just wants closure, she added.

The shooting was first investigated as an attempted armed home invasion, because the suspects had told detectives that the victims had attempted to break into their apartment, according to a probable cause affidavit. But police grew suspicious because statements given to them by Brown, Martin and Dawes were conflicting.

After being released from the hospital, Brooks’ brother allegedly told detectives that they had moved to Tallahassee in August. On the day leading up the shooting, he along with Brooks and the other victim had made arrangements with a friend for a tour of Florida A&M University in Tallahassee. While visiting and eating at a dining hall on campus, Brown was seen approaching the third victim.

The two began to argue, Brooks’ brother told detectives, and it appeared to stem from a prior incident.

Two of the victims had received a message from Brown, according to the report, about coming to their apartment to settle the disagreement. Brooks’ brother said that as result, the three of them had gone to the apartment with the intention to get into a fight.

The three victims allegedly knocked on the door of the apartment and rang the doorbell several times. Brooks’ brother said they thought the other three men were either not home or refusing to come outside. After waiting for about 10 to 15 minutes, they were turning to leave when gunshots erupted.

Detectives obtained video surveillance that confirmed that the incident at FAMU occurred, according to the affidavit. Cell phone records obtained revealed that Brown had reached out to Martin and Dawes afterward and that the three planned to ambush Brooks, his brother and their friend.

Detectives also say that the three conspired to mislead police during the investigation.

This story was originally published November 28, 2017 at 7:33 PM with the headline "Three suspects facing charges in fatal shooting of Southeast High grad."