Fourteen years after La Plata resident Martin Hawkins was gunned down on a neighborhood street, the Charles County Sheriff’s Office is publicly turning up the heat again. As part of its ongoing "Pursuit of Justice" cold-case campaign, the agency has refreshed its plea for tips in the 2012 killing and is once more reminding the public about a combined reward of up to $10,000 for information that leads to an arrest or indictment.
Case details
According to the FBI Baltimore office, Hawkins was shot at about 8:30 p.m. on April 18, 2012, and found in the 200 block of Kent Avenue in La Plata, where he was pronounced dead at the scene. Investigators canvassed the neighborhood and collected evidence at the time, but no arrest followed and the case eventually went cold.
What detectives are doing now
The sheriff’s cold-case unit says it regularly pulls old files off the shelf and runs the evidence through modern forensic tools, from DNA testing and ballistics to forensic genetic genealogy when it fits. In public updates, the Charles County Sheriff's Office has pointed to recent breakthroughs in other long-running investigations as proof that newer lab techniques and close work with partner agencies can finally crack cases that once seemed stuck. Detectives say renewed attention can also jog memories and bring forward witnesses who stayed quiet the first time around.
How to pass along tips
Anyone with information can contact Charles County Crime Solvers at 1-866-411-TIPS, text CHARLES plus a tip to CRIMES (274637), use the P3Intel mobile app, or call the sheriff’s office directly, according to the agency’s social media notice. The update also highlights the combined reward of up to $10,000 and stresses that anonymous tips are welcome. For the full language of the latest appeal, see the Charles County Sheriff's Office post.
Why the renewed push matters locally
In a small community like La Plata, an unsolved killing does not quietly fade into the background. Each fresh appeal is a reminder that the case is still open and that investigators are betting on both upgraded science and community memory to finally fill in the gaps. Local outlets have periodically revisited the sheriff’s reminders about Hawkins and other unsolved homicides, keeping them in the public eye as detectives look for the one tip that might move the file from cold case to solved, according to reporting by the Southern Maryland Chronicle.
