Aljarez Elliott, an 18-year-old Black man, was just weeks away from graduating from Cape Fear High School and had dreams of joining the military. His family was already grieving the recent loss of his older brother, who died from a heart attack earlier that month. His brother, Aldarris Elliot, later said, "That's my baby brother. I don't have any more brothers now... I broke down. Because I couldn't... I don't know how much more I can take."
In the early morning hours of May 31, 2023, Aljarez was with his cousin, 24-year-old Alzy Diamond, and two other friends at a home in the 700 block of Rembrandt Drive in Fayetteville, North Carolina. According to police, the group was hanging out when they got into an argument over the phone with two other men. Shortly after, around 3:15 a.m., those two men arrived at the residence. An altercation broke out, and gunfire erupted.
When Fayetteville police officers arrived, they found four men had been shot.
Aljarez Elliott and Alzy Diamond were pronounced dead at the scene. A third man was transported to the hospital in critical condition, and the fourth sustained non-life-threatening injuries. Alzy Diamond was the father of a 1-year-old daughter. The deaths were the 21st and 22nd homicides in Fayetteville that year, prompting concern from local officials about the rise in gun violence among young people.
Later that day, police arrested two suspects, Tyrone Demetrius Washington and Treshaun Lewis Geddie, both 21 years old and from Fayetteville. They were each charged with two counts of first-degree murder, two counts of attempted first-degree murder, felony conspiracy, and discharging a weapon into an occupied dwelling. Both men were booked into the Cumberland County Detention Center and held without bond.
As the cases proceeded through the legal system, the two co-defendants had different outcomes. Tyrone Demetrius Washington ultimately pleaded guilty in the shooting deaths. Treshaun Geddie was tried before a jury and was acquitted of the charges against him.
