Theodore B. Jones, a 52-year-old Black male, was killed on November 7, 2020, after returning to his home on Beech Street in North Braddock, Pennsylvania, during what authorities described as a burglary in progress. Jones, also known as Ted, had planned to spend the evening out after dropping off his young son, but the afternoon turned into a violent confrontation outside the home.
When he and his 6-year-old son arrived, the boy later told police there was an unfamiliar Jeep Grand Cherokee parked in their usual space, and a black safe from inside the house was sitting in the alley.
As Jones came upon the scene, the burglary appears to have unraveled. According to police accounts cited in reports, several men came out of the house, and Jones was shot multiple times. His son was still nearby when the gunfire broke out. The child managed to get out of his father's pickup, hide behind another vehicle, and then return to his father long enough to take his phone and call 911. Police and emergency responders were called to the 1500 block of Beech Street shortly after 3 p.m. Jones was taken to UPMC Mercy Hospital, where he was pronounced dead.
Investigators treated the killing as a homicide tied to the burglary. Tracking dogs later led police to evidence nearby, including a handgun, shell casings, and two black ski masks along Oak Street. Another ski mask was found on the front porch railing of Jones' home. A witness also reported seeing three men run from the area after the shots were fired. The safe became an important piece of evidence: investigators found a fingerprint on it that later matched the right pinky finger of Jawaun Austin, who was 17 at the time.
The first reported arrest came on December 31, 2020, when Allegheny County police charged 18-year-old Duwan Carey of Port Vue with criminal homicide, burglary, and criminal conspiracy. Police said Carey was one of the people responsible for the killing and that detectives were still working to identify others involved. In March 2021, authorities charged Austin, then identified as a teenager from Pittsburgh, with homicide, burglary, and conspiracy after the fingerprint evidence connected him to the safe. Reports also said an SUV belonging to Austin's mother was seen on surveillance video fleeing the scene. Austin was charged as an adult.
A third defendant, Demontre Rodgers of Philadelphia, was later part of the case as well. In April 2025, Rodgers and Austin pleaded guilty to third-degree murder before Allegheny County Common Pleas Judge Randal B. Todd. Both were sentenced to six to 12 years in state prison, followed by five years of probation. At that hearing, Jones' sister, Kristen Jones Nicholas, spoke about the pain caused to the family and the emptiness of the crime, saying the men had walked away with nothing after taking her brother from his children. Austin told the court he did not have a gun that day and said he had not expected anyone to be hurt, while Rodgers also apologized to the family.
Carey did not accept the same plea agreement. According to reports from the 2025 hearing, he rejected the deal, asked to fire his defense attorney, and wanted to represent himself when his case went to trial. Available online reporting identified him as the remaining co-defendant after Rodgers and Austin entered their guilty pleas.
Jones was remembered by relatives and friends as loyal, generous, and deeply connected to his community. His sister said he started Ted's Roofing and Siding when he was about 20 years old and sponsored local youth sports teams. Friends described him as the kind of person who gave freely, and his family emphasized the devastation left behind for his daughter and for the young son who witnessed the shooting. In a statement submitted to court, the boy's mother described how his sense of safety had been destroyed, while the child wrote that his mother had saved his father's boots for him so he could fill them one day.
