A 19-year-old Rockledge man was arrested after Brevard investigators linked him to the cold case shooting death of a 58-year-old Cocoa resident in 2023.
Tavery “Cookie” Houston was charged with first-degree premeditated murder in connection with the shooting death of Franklin Orwig Sr. Houston was booked into the Brevard County Jail Complex on a no-bond status after his arrest on Tuesday, April 6, jail records show.
“I want to thank everyone for a great job on this investigation,” Brevard County Sheriff Wayne Ivey said of the arrest.
“Our agents, analysts, and crime scene members worked diligently at getting a violent induvial off our streets and behind bars where he can’t victimize anyone else.”
Investigators say deadly confrontation was over money
Police were called to a home in the 5500 block of address on Burgess Avenue in Cocoa on Aug. 11, 2023, after reports that Orwig was shot.
Orwig, wounded several times by gunfire, was taken to a local hospital where he later was pronounced dead. Investigators believed that the then-unknown shooter and Orwig were known to each other and got into a confrontation over money.
Sheriff’s investigators later talked to witnesses who reported seeing a man in a mask leaving the area. Other tips led investigators to Houston, who sheriff’s agents believe plotted to carry out the shooting, reports show.
The case, however, remained unsolved, and no arrests were made.
Houston made a first appearance before a judge at the Brevard County Jail on Wednesday, April 9. He was assigned a public defender and demanded a speedy trial. Prosecutors will have three months to take the case
J.D. Gallop is a criminal justice/breaking news reporter at FLORIDA TODAY. Contact Gallop at 321-917-4641 or jgallop@floridatoday.com. X, or Twitter: @JDGallop.
This article originally appeared on Florida Today: Rockledge man, 19, arrested in deadly 2023 shooting over money
Reporting by J.D. Gallop, Florida Today / Florida Today
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