In the summer of 2017, a welfare check on Pine Grove Road in Capitol Heights, Maryland, led to a grim discovery. On the side of the street, officers found 29-year-old Kevin Hawkins suffering from a gunshot wound. It was late in the morning on July 29th when the call came in, and Hawkins was rushed to a nearby hospital in critical condition. Despite medical efforts, he succumbed to his injuries five days later, on August 3, 2017.
The investigation into the death of the Landover man
pointed detectives toward an acquaintance, Martinez Ferrell, who was 39 years old at the time. While the specific motive for the shooting remained under investigation, authorities determined that Hawkins and Ferrell knew each other. Evidence gathered by detectives placed Hawkins at Ferrell's residence in Landover on the night he was shot. A witness reported seeing Ferrell and another individual loading a heavy object into the back of Ferrell's black Trailblazer that same night. Further examination of the vehicle uncovered Hawkins' DNA in the back. Surveillance footage from the area where Hawkins was found also contributed to the investigation.
Based on the evidence, Martinez Ferrell was arrested and charged with the murder of Kevin Hawkins. In December 2021, after a four-day trial and over ten hours of deliberation, a Prince George's County jury found Ferrell, then 43, guilty of second-degree murder and conspiracy to commit murder. The court proceedings revealed that Hawkins had been shot twice in the eye. For his role in the death of Kevin Hawkins, Ferrell faced a potential maximum sentence of life in prison. His sentencing was scheduled for February of the following year.
