DETROIT (WXYZ) — A family is searching for answers after 28-year-old Jermoni Stephens was fatally shot on Detroit's west side last year, while police struggle to identify the killer due to uncooperative potential witnesses.
Watch Demetrios Sanders' video report:
Stephens was killed on July 5 last year outside a home on Monica Street near Puritan, where he lived with his girlfriend and her children.
Detroit police said the fatal shooting followed a dispute over the launching of fireworks, which escalated into a physical confrontation.
Captain Marcus Thirkill said several people were outside when the confrontation took place, including acquaintances of Stephens. However, potential witnesses have been unwilling to share information.
"We believe the individuals who are responsible for this shooting are connected to someone in the neighborhood. However, at this time, without the help of the community, we are struggling to identify these individuals," Thirkill said.
"We are well aware that people know who this individual is, and you are not doing the community any service allowing this individual to remain on the streets," Thirkill said.
Stephens' mother, Tamiya Jones, remembered her son as someone who cared about those around him.
"He was a fun, loving, no-nonsense type of person. He served in community," Tamiya Jones said.
"When I got the call July 5th, it changed my life forever. It changed my family’s life forever, and it’s just been difficult. It’s been very hard, knowing the kind of person he was," Tamiya Jones said.
Tamiya Jones said it has been difficult for the family to heal knowing the killer is still free, noting that Stephens' sister misses her brother every day.
"So they have their family, and they’re moving on, and they’re moving forward, but we have to move forward and through this and it’s unfair," Tamiya Jones said.
The family is pleading with anyone who saw what happened to come forward.
"If he were still here and this had happened to someone he loved or his friend, he would not keep quiet about it," Tamiya Jones said.
Stephens' grandmother, Melisa Jones, is also urging people who know information to speak up.
"I do know that somebody knows something," Melisa Jones said.
Anyone with information about Stephens' death is encouraged to contact Detroit police or submit an anonymous tip through Crime Stoppers at 1-800-SPEAK-UP.
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