Robert Riness, 49, was shot in the neck and killed while working as a cab driver in Cocoa Beach on December 9, 2021, around 11 p.m. He was in the area of Kensington Drive and Donna Avenue to pick up a customer when the shooting occurred; his taxi, a minivan, subsequently crashed through a fence near a house and Riness died at the scene. Nothing was taken from him, and police have said robbery does not appear to be the motive.

The Cocoa Police Department has an active investigation and reports having DNA evidence, but no arrests have been announced and the case remains unsolved. Detectives are also looking into a possible link to a pizza delivery driver robbery that happened on the same block days earlier, though that connection has not been confirmed. Family members Patricia Maybee and Tracy Baldwin have publicly expressed frustration and sorrow over the slow pace of the inquiry.

Anyone who knew Robert, his movements that night, or who has information about suspicious activity near Kensington Drive and Donna Avenue around December 9, 2021, is asked to come forward.