Unsolved Homicide: Teen's funeral held on what would have been his 19th birthday

OAKLAND, Calif. - Family members said goodbye Thursday to a young man who would have celebrated his 19th birthday on this day.

Oakland Police say a stray bullet killed Demetrius Roosevelt Fleming-Davis. 

Investigators are asking for help in finding the person who killed the college student.

"When I saw him lying there in a casket, it just brought tears to my eyes. I couldn't stop crying even though I was officiating," says Joseph Cotton Junior who mentored Demetrius.

Cotton is an elder with Acts Full Gospel Church where the family held the funeral Thursday morning. 

He says up 500 to 600 people attended the service where Demetrius sang in the youth choir and attended services regularly with his family.

"His smile. You wanted to let him get away with anything because of his charm and he was so smart," says Kaya Moland-Gordon, a cousin who regarded Demetrius as an older brother. 

The college student's life was suddenly cut short on April 10 around 6:30 in the evening in the area of 68th Avenue and International Boulevard.

Demetrius was sitting in a truck with friends. They were going to get something to eat.

Investigators say a stray bullet struck and killed him.

"I'm not eating right, I'm not sleeping right because the person who killed my cousin is out there walking around free. My cousin is dead," says Moland-Gordon.  

"People shooting guns like the wild, wild west," says Bishop Bob Jackson, pastor of Acts Full Gospel Church. 

He says he's known Demetrius since he was a young boy.

He describes him as a prankster and a natural leader who loved to help other young people and children.

"He wasn't into any gangs or any stuff like drugs and all of that. He just wasn't that kind of kid," says Jackson, "It's unbelievable. I still can't get over it, unimaginable." 

"Whoever did it, you know who you are and god knows who you are and that day is coming when you have to answer to god," says Cotton. 

At the end of the funeral, doves were released.

Demetrius would have turned 19 years old Thursday, April 22.

Friends describe him as super-smart and a computer whiz.

They plan to hold a memorial service for him at 3:30pm  on Saturday at Berkeley Youth Alternatives, a nonprofit where Demetrius was an intern.

Oakland Police and Crime Stoppers of Oakland are offering up to a $15,000 reward for information leading to an arrest in this case.