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Family demands answers after father robbed, shot to death at convenience store

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Updated  September 11, 2024 10:21pm EDT
Brevard County
FOX 35 Orlando

Father robbed, shot to death at convenience store, family says

A community is grieving after a local father was robbed and shot to death at a convenience store in Melbourne. FOX 35 learned from the victim’s mom, Craig Dewberry Jr., who was a father with an 8-year-old daughter before he was murdered.

MELBOURNE, Fla. - A community is grieving after a local father was robbed and shot to death at a convenience store in Melbourne.  

FOX 35 learned from the victim’s mom, Craig Dewberry Jr., who was a father with an 8-year-old daughter before he was murdered. 

Melbourne Police say Dewberry was killed on Tuesday afternoon at the Tip Top Mini Mart on Monroe Street. A suspect, Malachi Bell, was taken into custody later that night, but the victim’s mom thinks more people still need to be arrested. 

A day after the murder, a memorial started growing at the mini-mart. Flowers and balloons were left on one side of the store. Just past the front door, people also put up a poster saying Rest In Peace.

"He said, I called to tell you that I love you," said Connie Staley, the victim's mother. 

She says those were the last words she heard from her 27-year-old son before he died. 

"He was like no other. He had so many friends. A lot of people loved Craig," she said. "He was one person that definitely did not deserve this at all. He didn’t deserve this!"

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Melbourne police say a school resource officer at Stone Magnet Middle School was the first to hear the gunshots on Tuesday afternoon. 

Police arrived at the shop on Monroe Street within two minutes, but the alleged shooters were already gone.

"Two or three people came and just shoot and just gone," said Gofran Patwary, who witnessed the shooting. 

Craig Dewberry

He says it was just Craig on the ground left behind at the scene.

The store clerk says Craig visited the mini-mart every day, but the shooters were strangers.

"I just heard shots, and I didn’t recognize them," the clerk added. 

Melbourne police made an arrest on Tuesday night. 

They say 21-year-old Malachi Bell was trying to run off to South Florida, but Indian River County deputies stopped him at a Greyhound bus station in Sebastian.

Bell is charged with first-degree felony murder and robbery with a firearm. While police haven't released a motive, Connie thinks the alleged shooter was trying to steal one of the necklaces her son always wore.

"This is where he be at every single day, so for me to think something like this happen to him, I would never thought it would happen right here," said Connie. 

His family is committed to keeping his story alive and trying to process the tragedy.

"I’m just still in a state of shock. It still feels unreal. Even with me being right here, it still hasn’t hit me yet – my brother is gone," concluded Tyesha Staley, who rushed from South Carolina to be by her mom’s side after the murder. 

Craig’s mom says she will continue to fight for justice for her son. She thinks more people need to be held accountable and will not stop until they are.

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