In the early hours of a Wednesday morning, the quiet of a Pine Bluff, Arkansas apartment complex was shattered by the sound of gunfire. Responding to a call shortly after 1:00 a.m. on November 1, 2023, officers from the Pine Bluff Police Department arrived at the St. John Apartments on East 26th Street to a grim scene. There, in the parking lot near the southeast corner of the complex, they discovered the unresponsive body of 21-year-old Cedric Hawkins Jr., a male resident of Pine Bluff.
He had sustained apparent gunshot wounds and was pronounced dead at the scene by the Jefferson County Coroner.
The initial stages of the investigation into Hawkins' death began immediately, with detectives canvassing the area for evidence and seeking information from potential witnesses. In the days that followed, the Pine Bluff Police Department continued their work, piecing together the events that led to the fatal shooting. While details of the ongoing investigation remained guarded, the case was being treated as a homicide. The initial press release from the police department did not name any suspects, and they appealed to the public for any information that might lead to an arrest in the city's latest act of gun violence.
As the investigation progressed, a break in the case emerged. Through their diligent efforts, detectives were able to identify a suspect in the killing of Cedric Hawkins. An arrest was subsequently made, bringing a sense of hope to a community shaken by the violent loss of a young man. The suspect was taken into custody in connection with the murder, marking a significant development in the quest for justice for Hawkins and his grieving family. Further details regarding the suspect's identity and the motive behind the shooting were expected to be released as the legal process moved forward.
