Crime
Family Ties to Violence: Half-Brother of Iryna Zarutska Accused Killer Previously Convicted in 2012 Murder of 65-Year-Old Robert Heym
CHARLOTTE, N.C. — The family history of violence tied to the suspect accused in the killing of 23-year-old Ukrainian refugee Iryna Zarutska has drawn renewed attention to a broader cycle of crime and tragedy.
Authorities confirm that Decarlos Brown Jr., 35, who is charged with fatally stabbing Zarutska aboard a Charlotte light rail train on August 22, has a half-brother with his own history of deadly violence.
Court records show that Stacey Dejon Brown, 22, pleaded guilty in 2012 to the murder of Robert Heym, 65, who was shot in the face while walking home from work. The killing occurred during a robbery on October 2012, in which Brown and accomplice Rodderick Derrick Crawford confronted Heym.
Investigators said Brown’s girlfriend at the time provided key information, telling police that Brown had placed the murder weapon — a sawed-off shotgun — inside her backpack before attempting to hide it. She also told detectives Brown admitted, “I shot the guy,” after the victim resisted.
Police recovered Heym’s cell phone near the Scaleybark light rail station, underscoring how the city’s transit system was again central to a violent crime. Officers responding to nearby gunfire found Heym fatally wounded.
In Mecklenburg County court, Stacey Brown pled guilty to second-degree murder, two counts of robbery with a dangerous weapon, assault with a deadly weapon with intent to kill, and breaking or entering a motor vehicle. He was sentenced to 27 to 36 years in prison.
The case was linked to additional incidents:
In July 2012, Brown participated in breaking into vehicles in a Charlotte parking garage.
One day before Heym’s murder, Brown, Crawford, and Joshwah Townsend robbed another man on West Boulevard. During the robbery, Brown held a shotgun while Townsend took the victim’s belongings. When the victim attempted to flee, Brown shot him in the back. That victim survived with serious injuries.Both accomplices later accepted plea agreements. Crawford pled guilty to two counts of robbery with a dangerous weapon and awaits sentencing. Townsend pled guilty to conspiracy to commit robbery and received a sentence of 17 to 33 months.
The Browns’ history of violent offenses is not isolated. Family members have described a long pattern of legal troubles spanning multiple generations, including arrests involving weapons, break-ins, and other felonies. Some relatives have cited untreated mental illness, including schizophrenia, as a contributing factor.
Community advocates say the tragedy highlights a larger cycle of violence that continues to devastate families and neighborhoods. “This isn’t just about one case — it’s about a cycle that keeps stealing lives, peace, and futures,” one community member said. “We have to break it. That means caring, prevention, healing, and change before another life is erased.”
The deaths of Robert Heym in 2012 and Iryna Zarutska in 2025 — both innocent victims of senseless attacks — serve as painful reminders of the urgent need to address both violent crime and its root causes.
🕊️ May Iryna and all victims of senseless violence rest in peace.
Crime
Venezuelan national Julio Cesar Sosa-Celis shot in the leg by an immigration agent in Minneapolis
On January 14, 2025, federal law enforcement personnel were engaged in a targeted enforcement operation involving Julio Cesar Sosa-Celis, a Venezuelan national who has been present in the United States since 2022.
The operation escalated into a high-speed pursuit, a physical confrontation, and an ambush by multiple subjects, necessitating the use of a defensive firearm discharge by a federal agent.
At approximately 6:50 PM, federal officers initiated a targeted traffic stop of a vehicle operated by Sosa-Celis.
The subject refused to comply with law enforcement commands and attempted to flee the scene.
During the pursuit, the subject’s vehicle collided with a stationary, parked car.
Following the collision, the subject abandoned the vehicle and fled the scene on foot.
A federal agent pursued the suspect on foot and successfully intercepted him. As the agent attempted to effect an arrest, the subject became combative, resulting in a violent struggle on the ground.
During this confrontation, two additional male subjects emerged from a nearby residence to intervene.
These individuals reportedly ambushed the agent, utilizing a snow shovel and a broom handle to strike the officer.
The situation escalated when the primary suspect, Sosa-Celis, regained his footing and joined the two additional subjects in the assault.
Reports indicate the suspect struck the agent with a blunt object (identified as either the shovel or broom handle).
Citing an immediate threat to his life while being outnumbered and actively assaulted by three individuals, the agent discharged his service weapon in self-defense.
The discharge struck Sosa-Celis in the lower extremity (leg). Following the shot, all three suspects retreated into a nearby apartment complex and initiated a barricade situation.
Following a brief standoff, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) successfully secured the perimeter and apprehended all three individuals without further injury.
Both the federal agent and Sosa-Celis were transported to a local medical facility for treatment.
Images from the scene showed Sosa-Celis conscious and alert during transport.
All three subjects involved in the assault are currently in the custody of ICE.
Further charges related to the assault on a federal officer and resisting arrest are pending review by the U.S. Attorney’s Office.