On a Saturday morning in the Bronx, 33-year-old Cortez Hinton was walking down Kelly Street in the Foxhurst neighborhood when his life was violently cut short. On October 15, 2022, a gold-and-tan sedan approached him, and a gunman opened fire, striking Hinton in the torso and groin. As he lay wounded on the pavement, the car circled back and deliberately ran over him multiple times, inflicting severe head and body trauma.
Emergency services rushed Hinton to Lincoln Hospital, but he succumbed to his devastating injuries about three hours later.
The investigation into the brutal slaying pointed towards a possible drug-related motive, a theory supported by the discovery of eight bags of marijuana at the scene. Surveillance footage captured the moments before the attack, showing a man in black clothing and light-colored sneakers interacting with two individuals in a red car before approaching Hinton and beginning to shoot. This vehicle was later identified as stolen. The New York Police Department launched an intensive investigation to track down those responsible for the shocking crime. For Hinton's mother, Toni Hinton, the tragedy was compounded by the fact that she had lost another son, Quinton, to gun violence in North Carolina in 2010.
The investigation led to the arrest of 19-year-old Jovant Erazo on November 8, 2022. Prosecutors accused Erazo of being the driver of the car that ran over Hinton four times after he had been shot. He was charged with murder, assault, and vehicular manslaughter. A second arrest was made on December 1, when a 17-year-old, whose name was withheld due to his age, was taken into custody. He faced charges of murder, assault, and two counts of criminal possession of a weapon. Despite these arrests, authorities have stated that the investigation remains ongoing as they continue to search for the shooter and two other passengers who were in the car with Erazo during the attack.
