BREVARD COUNTY, Fla. — Brevard County deputies have identified the man who was killed in a shooting in Mims Monday evening and the man who they say did it.
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On Tuesday, the sheriff’s office announced the arrest of 27-year-old Corey Ward on charges of murder and armed robbery.
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Investigators say Ward shot and killed 21-year-old Tommy Leon Brothers during a drug deal, then took his money.
According to court documents, a woman drove Ward and another man from Orange County to Mims Monday specifically to sell drugs.
Investigators say the trio pulled up in front of a home on Cypress Ave. where they met up with Brothers.
According to the sheriff’s office, what happened next was caught on a nearby home’s surveillance video. It shows Brothers and Ward standing near the rear driver’s side door of the car talking, when at one point, Ward performs a “pat-down” on Brothers.
Ward is then seen taking a box from the trunk before getting back into the car.
When Ward reentered the car, Brothers can be seen approaching the driver’s side back window before he suddenly falls to the ground.
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The vehicle Ward was in, a gray Toyota Corolla, then speeds away from the area.
Responding deputies arrived to find Brothers lying in the roadway with gunshot wounds to his chest, shoulder, and left leg. He was taken to Parrish Medical Center where he died.
According to court documents, as more deputies responded to the area, a witness reported that they were following the suspect vehicle westbound on State Road 46.
Deputies stopped the car near the intersection of SR 46 and Interstate 95 where Crowe, the second man, and the female driver were all taken into custody to be questioned.
During his interview, investigators say Ward declined to give a statement without speaking to a lawyer.
However, deputies say the other two people in the car gave inconsistent accounts of what happened in which they each suggested Brothers may have also had a gun. Investigators say a gun was ever found on or near Brothers.
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After weighing all the evidence, the sheriff’s office determined they had cause to charge Ward with first-degree premeditated murder and robbery with a firearm. He’s being held in the Brevard County jail on no bond.
Neither of the other two people in the car with Ward have been charged.
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