A man was found dead with apparent gunshot wounds inside a Pine Bluff apartment unit Friday evening, and police said they are looking for information related to a suspect.
Pine Bluff police said an investigation into a homicide at the Linden Street Apartments, 1020 S. Linden, is in the early stages. According to a news release, officers were called to the complex in reference to an armed disturbance and spoke to a person at the scene who reported hearing shots from one of the apartments.
Officers, who entered the unit with assistance from the Pine Bluff Fire and Emergency Services Department, reported seeing bullet holes in the apartment door.
Police said they found a man identified as Keith Hawkins, 40, lying on the floor with apparent gunshot wounds. Deputy Coroner Eric Belcher pronounced Hawkins dead at the scene.
Hawkins' body will be sent to the state Crime Laboratory to officially determine the cause of death.
Police are asking anyone with information about the shooting to contact the Detective Division at (870) 730-2090 or Dispatch at (870) 541-5300. A reward is available for information that leads to the arrest and conviction of any suspect or suspects. Information may also be shared via Facebook at facebook.com/pinebluff.pbpd.
This was the second homicide within city limits this year and the third in Jefferson County. On Feb. 13, a man identified as Larry Williams, 54, of Pine Bluff was found with possible gunshot wounds outside a residence in the 1200 block of West 29th Avenue. Police said the shooting occurred at 2820 S. Linden St., a block north of where Williams' body was found.
Police at the time had not identified a suspect.
A shooting on Whiteville Road, southwest of the city limits, on Jan. 6 resulted in the death of Tony Jones, 51, whose hometown was not listed in Jefferson County sheriff's deputies' reports. Zackary Vermillion, 29, who resided in the vicinity, was charged with first-degree murder and was released from the Jefferson County jail on $200,000 bond.
Vermillion is awaiting an arraignment date in the 11th West Circuit Court.