Lamontee Stevenson, a 19-year-old U.S. Navy sailor known to friends and family as Montee, was remembered for his fun-loving spirit and constant smile. Originally from Akron, Ohio, he had been a standout football player at East High School before enlisting. His former coach, Marques Hayes, recalled him as a young man who never caused trouble. "You can’t find one person who ever had an issue with LeMontee,” Hayes told a local newspaper. “I mean no suspensions, no detentions, no anything like that. Just a fun loving guy, a fun loving spirit, you know — always smiling.” Tragically, his family was already familiar with loss; a little over two years before Lamontee's death, his 24-year-old brother, LeMichael Stevenson, was fatally shot in Akron.
In the summer of 2019, Lamontee was stationed in San Diego, California. In the early morning hours of Saturday, August 17, 2019, he was attending a house party in the Logan Heights neighborhood.
Just before 1 a.m., an argument broke out between a friend of Lamontee's and another man at the residence in the 2700 block of Marcy Avenue. The argument quickly escalated into a physical fight. True to his character as a peacemaker, Lamontee stepped in to try and break up the altercation.
As he tried to intervene, the unidentified man he was trying to separate from his friend produced a handgun. The man fired the weapon, striking Lamontee multiple times before immediately fleeing the scene. San Diego Police officers arrived around 12:50 a.m. to find the young sailor suffering from grave injuries. Emergency responders rushed him to a local hospital, but his wounds were too severe, and he was pronounced dead.
The investigation into the murder of the male sailor was launched immediately by the San Diego Police Department's Homicide Unit. Given Lamontee's status as an active-duty service member, the Naval Criminal Investigative Service (NCIS) and the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) joined the case. The only description investigators have of the shooter is that he was a Black male with medium-length hair. Despite interviewing party attendees, detectives struggled to identify the suspect, and the case eventually went cold.
Over the years, law enforcement agencies have continued to seek the public's help. In June 2022, San Diego County Crime Stoppers and NCIS offered a combined $2,000 reward for information. By April 2024, after investigators had exhausted all available leads, California Governor Gavin Newsom announced a $50,000 reward for information leading to an arrest and conviction in the case. This was part of a larger program to help solve stubborn cold cases across the state.
As of May 2026, the case remains unsolved, but the effort to find Lamontee's killer has intensified. The San Diego Police Department, NCIS, and the FBI issued a renewed appeal for information. The total reward offered for the identification, arrest, and conviction of the person responsible has grown to a potential total of $75,000. This includes the $50,000 from the California Governor's Office, supplemented by $15,000 from the FBI, $9,000 from NCIS, and $1,000 from San Diego County Crime Stoppers.
Investigators believe that someone who was at that party knows the identity of the shooter and holds the key to bringing justice to Lamontee Stevenson and his family. They urge anyone with information, no matter how insignificant it may seem, to come forward.
Tips can be directed to the San Diego Police Department Homicide Unit at (619) 531-2293. To remain anonymous, individuals can contact San Diego County Crime Stoppers at (888) 580-8477 or submit tips online. Information can also be provided directly to the Naval Criminal Investigative Service through the NCIS Tips app or via their website at www.ncis.navy.mil.
