Owings Mills Man Sentenced in 2024 High-Rise Apartment Murder
A Baltimore County judge sentenced an Owings Mills man to 45 years in prison Tuesday for convictions related to a fatal shooting in front of an apartment building in Lochearn.
In February, a jury found Kevin Martin, 32, guilty of second-degree murder in the 2024 shooting of 29-year-old Tracey Hankins Jr. He was also convicted of using a firearm in the commission of a violent crime.
Hankins died from two gunshots fired at him from a dark area near a dumpster in front of the Liberty Towers high-rise apartments on the 6800 block of Liberty Road.
Hankins lived with his family at the apartment building and was neighbors with Martin's sister. Just before 10 p.m. Aug. 3, 2024, three shots rang out from an unlit area near a dumpster as Hankins was getting into his car in front of the building.
One 9 mm bullet hit the roof of Hankins' car. Another pierced his arm. A third struck his back on the left side and traveled to his heart. He was pronounced dead at Sinai Hospital less than an hour later.
Security video showed Martin in front of the building seemingly waiting just before the shooting. He initially drew investigators' attention because he was dressed in sweatpants and a sweatshirt with the hood pulled tightly around his face, despite the warm August weather.
Prosecutors theorized Martin killed Hankins because of a "beef" Martin’s sister had with Hankins, who lived on the same floor as she did. Martin “ambushed and executed” Hankins, possibly over a check and car that had been stolen from her, Assistant State’s Attorney Gavin Patashnick told jurors in closing arguments.
Judge Judith Ensor handed down a sentence of 40 years for the second-degree murder charge and 20 years for use of a firearm in the commission of a violent crime, according to court records. Ensor suspended all but five years of the firearm charge.
Martin, who has no criminal record in Maryland, will get credit for the 519 days he has already spent in jail.
His defense attorneys, Isabel Lipman and Maggie Koester, filed notice of appeal after his sentencing, according to court records.