On a cold Friday afternoon, January 14, 2022, the life of 29-year-old Eddie C. Matthews was tragically cut short in a hail of gunfire in Hazel Park, Michigan. He and another man, Nathan E. Jacobs, also 29, were fatally shot while they sat inside a black Mercedes Benz. The shooting occurred around 4:43 p.m. in the parking lot of the Timeless Gallery rental hall on John R Road.
Both men, who were from Detroit, suffered multiple gunshot wounds and were pronounced dead at the scene.
The violence erupted during a memorial service being held inside the rental hall for a man who had been killed on Christmas Day the previous year. Investigators believe the shooting was not a random act of violence, but a targeted attack, possibly in retaliation for the earlier homicide. Police identified two shooters who they believe knew the victims. After the shooting, the assailants fled the scene in a vehicle. The chaos of the event sent attendees of the memorial scattering, and many were reluctant to cooperate with the ensuing police investigation.
In the course of their investigation, Hazel Park police, with assistance from other law enforcement agencies, identified three suspects in the double homicide: Michael Hicks, 40, his brother Ricco Hicks, 32, and Keko Martin, 31, all from Detroit. On February 24, 2022, Michael Hicks was apprehended and charged with two counts of first-degree murder, conspiracy to commit murder, and multiple felony firearm possession counts. He is being held without bond.
More than a year and a half later, on September 4, 2023, Keko Martin was also arrested and faced similar charges. In October 2025, a jury found Martin guilty on two charges of first-degree murder, two counts of conspiracy to commit murder, and four counts of felony firearms. He faces a sentence of up to life in prison without the possibility of parole. The third suspect, Ricco Hicks, remains at large, and authorities have offered a reward for information that leads to his arrest. The investigation continues as law enforcement works to bring all those responsible for the deaths of Eddie C. Matthews and Nathan E. Jacobs to justice.
