Our office would like to express our deepest sympathy to the family and friends of Tommy Brothers Jr. as they struggle to manage this terrible loss.

This tragic outcome is the direct result of the on-going illegal sale and use of controlled substances that continues to plague our communities. As we’ve seen countless times, engaging in these types of crimes can and does carry unforeseen consequences.

With the defendant Corey WARD (26) facing felony charges of Possession of Controlled Substance with Intent to Sell (F3), and Possession of more than 20 Grams of Cannabis (F3), our office is limited in what information can be released at this time. However, we want to specifically address the question of why WARD is not being charged with the murder of Tommy Brothers.

On August 22, 2022, the two men, defendant Corey WARD and Tommy Brothers Jr along with their associates, agreed to meet and conduct the sale and purchase of cannabis on Cypress Ave. in Mims. WARD arrived in a vehicle accompanied by two others and after searching Brothers for a weapon, entered the car to retrieve the cannabis. Brothers, who had concealed a firearm in a bag, armed himself and attempted to rob WARD. WARD fired multiple shots, striking and killing Brothers, immediately fleeing the scene along with two accomplices. The group was apprehended by deputies a few miles away, with a firearm and cannabis recovered from the car.

The Brevard County Sheriff’s Office initial investigation was hampered by not only the refusal to cooperate by WARD, but the conflicting and false statements of his accomplices. Witnesses at the scene not only misrepresented the incident but provided a misleading cell phone video and removed Brother’s firearm before the arrival of deputies.

As a result, deputies had probable cause to believe that WARD had shot and killed Brothers and arrested him.  However, in the continuing investigation a home security video was recovered that confirmed Brothers possessed a firearm moments before he was shot and the witness who removed the weapon was identified.

With this and additional information gathered in the investigation, there was insufficient evidence for the State to prove WARD had committed the offense of murder and overcome his expected argument of acting in self-defense, even while willingly engaging in suspected criminal conduct.

The reasoning behind this difficult decision was shared with the Brothers’ family and every effort will be made to pursue the criminal prosecution of WARD on the drug related charges, along with any others who committed criminal violations in connection with these crimes.