On August 26, 2023, Jevonte Huff, a 28-year-old male, was fatally shot in the early morning hours at a Sunoco gas station on Dewey Avenue in Rochester, New York. Police responded to a call around 4:30 a.m. and found Huff in the parking lot with at least one gunshot wound to his upper body. He was transported to Strong Memorial Hospital, where he was pronounced dead a short time later. Investigators determined that an altercation involving multiple people had occurred prior to the shooting.
After the initial dispute subsided, a car that had left the scene circled back, and individuals inside the vehicle began firing into a crowd, striking Huff. Police have stated that they do not believe Jevonte Huff was the intended target of the shooting.
The day after the shooting, the Rochester Police Department arrested two suspects in connection with the homicide. Naveair Stewart, 18, and Thalia Arroyo, 19, were taken into custody following a separate drive-by shooting incident and a subsequent police chase. A loaded nine-millimeter handgun was recovered at the time of their arrest. Both Stewart and Arroyo were charged with murder in the second degree and several other gun-related charges. They both pleaded not guilty at their initial court arraignment.
In a significant development, on September 20, 2024, Naveair Stewart, then 19, pleaded guilty to two counts of Manslaughter in the 1st Degree for causing the deaths of Jevonte Huff and, in a separate, unrelated incident, 18-year-old Shanye Mootry. The court sentenced Stewart to 40 years in the New York State Department of Corrections, to be followed by 5 years of post-release supervision. Prosecutors noted that in both instances, the victims were innocent bystanders and not the intended targets of the shootings.
