Kevin Malcolm Ulysse, a 22-year-old Black man, was shot and killed on October 16, 2019, in Riviera Beach, Florida. At about 4:42 p.m., officers were dispatched to the area of 717 West 7th Street, near Avenue H, after a report of gunfire. They found Ulysse lying unresponsive in the roadway in front of a residence with a gunshot wound. Riviera Beach Fire Rescue personnel pronounced him dead at the scene.
Contemporary police accounts described the shooting as the result of a confrontation that escalated into a physical altercation before the gunman fired and fled on foot.
The investigation eventually developed a more detailed account of what detectives believe happened. According to arrest records described by investigators, Ulysse had gone to the area and completed a marijuana transaction with Damien Dwayne King. Detectives allege that Robert Rashad Pettway intended to rob Ulysse and that King helped set up the encounter by bringing Ulysse to the location under the premise of making a purchase. As Ulysse began to leave, investigators say Pettway confronted him. Surveillance footage reportedly captured the confrontation, while nearby audio recorded repeated demands to “give it up,” language detectives interpreted as evidence of an attempted robbery. Officers later reported finding cash and a bag of marijuana still in Ulysse's pockets.
Witnesses provided important pieces of the initial investigation. Two juvenile witnesses told detectives they saw the confrontation before a shot was fired. Other witnesses described a man wearing a red shirt running away immediately afterward. Investigators say the gunman fled west from the scene and eventually entered the passenger side of a waiting vehicle. Police focused on a black Chevrolet Monte Carlo associated with King, and surveillance footage reportedly showed that vehicle repeatedly traveling through the neighborhood before the shooting.
Detectives questioned King during the original investigation. According to later accounts of the arrest affidavit, his statements changed as investigators confronted him with evidence. He initially did not tell police that the other man had entered his vehicle after the shooting. Investigators said surveillance footage contradicted portions of his account. King later acknowledged driving the other man away and indicated he had probably dropped him off before the confrontation, although he denied being the shooter and disputed responsibility for Ulysse's death. Detectives ultimately came to believe King helped facilitate the attempted robbery and transported Pettway before and after the shooting.
Despite witness interviews, examinations of physical evidence and efforts to pursue persons of interest and other leads, Riviera Beach detectives were unable to make an arrest in 2019. The case remained unresolved for years. In 2025, it was turned over to the North Palm Beach Police Department for an independent review, giving its Cold Case Team an opportunity to reexamine the original evidence and develop additional investigative leads.
That review brought renewed attention to surveillance recordings, telephone records and forensic evidence. Investigators reported that DNA recovered from an interior passenger-side door handle of King's vehicle matched Pettway. Telephone records also became significant: detectives said a telephone number associated with Pettway communicated with King immediately before the killing. Although the prepaid number reportedly had been registered under another name, investigators said a probation or parole document independently identified it as a number used by Pettway. An acquaintance interviewed during the reopened investigation also confirmed that Pettway and King knew one another. Taken together with witness statements and surveillance evidence, investigators said the evidence connected Pettway to the confrontation and King to the alleged robbery plan.
Nearly seven years after Ulysse was killed, investigators obtained homicide warrants on September 23, 2026. Damien Dwayne King was charged with first-degree murder and attempted armed robbery. Robert Rashad Pettway was charged with first-degree murder, attempted robbery with a firearm, and possession of a firearm by a convicted felon. Authorities identified Pettway as the alleged gunman and King as the alleged participant who helped arrange the encounter and provided transportation.
Pettway was apprehended through a coordinated effort involving the Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office Fugitive Warrants Unit and the West Palm Beach Police Department. King was arrested at his West Palm Beach residence by the Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office. Subsequent court proceedings resulted in judges denying bail to both defendants, and the Palm Beach County Public Defender's Office was appointed to represent them. As of the latest publicly available reporting, the prosecutions remained pending and no trial or conviction had been reported. The charges against King and Pettway remain allegations unless and until proven in court.
