On a Monday afternoon in May 2019, the sound of gunshots pierced the air in a Pine Bluff, Arkansas neighborhood. When police officers arrived at the intersection of 25th Avenue and Spruce Street, they discovered 33-year-old Antonio Martin inside a vehicle, suffering from an apparent gunshot wound. By 5:12 p.m., he was pronounced deceased at the scene by the deputy coroner.
A male passenger in the vehicle had also been shot and was transported to a local hospital with injuries that were reported as not life-threatening. The investigation into this incident, which marked the city's 12th homicide of the year, led to the apprehension of two suspects. Authorities arrested 24-year-old Anthony Boykin on charges of Capital Murder and Battering in the First Degree. A second individual, 23-year-old Wanda Whaley, was also taken into custody and charged with Hindering Apprehension.
In a separate and unrelated incident in November of 2023, another man named Antonio Martin, aged 34, also lost his life to gun violence in Pine Bluff, Arkansas. The circumstances surrounding his death on November 16, 2023, prompted a police investigation into what was determined to be a homicide. Further details regarding the specific location of the shooting and the events that transpired have not been made widely available in the initial reports. Law enforcement officials with the Pine Bluff Police Department began an investigation into the deadly shooting and sought assistance from the public in locating a suspect in connection with the murder. The case remains under investigation as authorities work to piece together the events of that Thursday morning and bring resolution to the case.
