Man Found Guilty Of 2017 Capitol Heights Murder: Court

PRINCE GEORGE'S COUNTY, MD — After a four-day trial and more than 10 hours of deliberation, a Prince George’s County jury found 43-year-old Martinez Ferrell of Landover guilty of second-degree murder and conspiracy to commit murder for a homicide that occurred in July 2017.

Ferrell faces a possible maximum sentence of life in prison. Sentencing has been scheduled for Feb. 11, 2022.

On July 29, 2017, Prince George’s County police officers responded to 1408 Pine Grove Road in Capitol Heights where they found Kevin Hawkins, 29, lying on the side of the road with trauma to his head and eye. He was taken to the hospital where it was determined that he had been shot in the eye twice. Four days later, Hawkins died from his injuries.

Investigators said the last place Hawkins was seen was at Ferrell's residence in Landover. On the night of the murder, a witness saw Ferrell and another unidentified person loading something heavy into the back of the defendant’s black Trailblazer. DNA from the victim was found in the back of Ferrell’s truck.

Additionally, surveillance video from the night of the murder was recovered from the 1400 block of Pine Grove Road where the victim was originally found. The video showed a dark sport utility vehicle similar to Ferrell’s Trailblazer parked in the area where Hawkins was later found. After a few minutes, the defendant’s vehicle was seen driving down Pine Grove Road without headlights before leaving the scene.