In the summer of 2015, on a Wednesday afternoon, 32-year-old Kelvaughn Hawthorne, a Black man, was fatally shot outside the Cousins Corner Market at the intersection of Laketon Road and Montier Street in Wilkinsburg, a suburb of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The incident occurred on July 15, when a gunman fired at least 10 shots, striking Hawthorne multiple times.
Despite being rushed to a local hospital, he succumbed to his injuries.
Allegheny County Police launched an investigation into the shooting. Eyewitnesses reported seeing a Black male fleeing the scene in a white sedan. Police reviewed surveillance footage from the corner store which, though grainy, captured the shooting. The investigation quickly pointed towards a suspect, Cory Jackson, who was known to have had a previous dispute with Hawthorne. A significant piece of evidence that aided in his identification was that the shooter in the video was left-handed, as was Jackson. An electrical contractor who was in the area at the time also identified Jackson as the man he saw running from the scene with a gun.
Less than a month after the shooting, on August 4, 2015, police arrested Cory Jackson. He was charged with criminal homicide, weapons violations, and tampering with evidence. Initially, Jackson was held for trial on these charges. However, the legal proceedings concluded when Jackson pleaded guilty to third-degree murder.
In January 2018, Cory Jackson, then 28, was sentenced for the killing of Kelvaughn Hawthorne. As a result of his guilty plea, he was ordered to serve 12.5 to 25 years in state prison. This sentence brought a resolution to the case that had begun with a brazen daylight shooting outside a neighborhood convenience store.
