This week’s unsolved homicide occurred in La Mesa, California. Around 12:30 a.m. on April 24, 2021, when two masked men approached an apartment in the 4300 block of Echo Court. They knocked on the door. Cornelius Donte Brown, also known as Donte was a 22-year-old active-duty sailor. After Donte answered the door, one of the men shot Donte in the chest and in the neck.


The two men fled into the night. After being rushed to Sharp Memorial Hospital in San Diego, Donte died during surgery. According to Adrienne Brown Mills, her son had some friends over. “I was told you know that they had a little get-together,” “And maybe eight to 10 people were at there, his, apartment. All of them were Navy with the exception of maybe one or two, three at the most. [Someone knocked and] he went to the door and was shot and killed.”


Donte had big dreams. Originally from South Carolina, he was stationed at Naval Base Coronado in San Diego. He served aboard the USS Abraham Lincoln since 2018.
For the police, there is not much information to go on.


His parents described him as outgoing, caring, and loved by everyone. Donte was destined to be a very successful man and someone came along and took it,” said his father.
Today, Adrienne hasn’t received any updates on her son’s case. Adrienne has no answers about her son's death. For this week's story, I spoke with Donte Brown's parents, Adrienne and Norman. If you have any information about this case, please contact the La Mesa Police Department at 619-667-1400 or San Diego County Crime Stoppers at 888-580-TIPS. For additional information about this case, please visit the Justice4DonteBrown FB page.


Note* Opening audio provided by CBS 8 News (https://www.cbs8.com)


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