Photo: East Tyler Avenue and North Fifth Street
It was 11PM on January 8, 2020 when Fresno Police officers were called to East Tyler Avenue and North Fifth Street for a shooting.
Upon arriving, officers located two young men, 17-year old Christyan Roberts and 18-year old Dezon Cheatham. They had been shot while sitting in a car.
When police arrived Christyan had made his way out of the car. He was in critical condition and transported to Community Medical Regional Center for medical attention. Unfortunately, Dezon, who remained inside the car, was pronounced dead at the scene.
This senseless act of violence marks the first homicide of 2020 in the city of Fresno. Police are still searching for the person who murdered Dezon, a recently enlistee of the United States Army scheduled to leave in February, and seriously injured Christyan, a youth leader at his church.
The motive for the shooting is not being released while police follow up with leads but it is known that neither victim had gang ties, nor were they armed at the time of the shooting. Anyone with information is urged to contact Crime Stoppers at 559-498-7867.
