Late on Wednesday, February 26, 2025, Patrick McWanza Hewett Jr., 25, was found inside a vehicle near LaSalle Avenue and Mercury Boulevard in Hampton, Virginia, suffering from gunshot wounds. He was pronounced dead at the scene. The shooting is believed to have occurred in the 400 block of Michigan Avenue. A second occupant of the vehicle suffered life-threatening injuries and was taken to a local hospital.

Hewett was described as kind and humble and was preparing to start a landscaping business with his God-brother in the first week of March, with several contracts already secured. The Hampton Police Division’s Major Crimes Unit opened an intensive homicide and maiming investigation and appealed to the public for information.

On June 11, 2025, authorities arrested 23-year-old Caleb Marquise Dillard of Newport News; he was charged with one count of 2nd Degree Murder, one count of Aggravated Malicious Wounding, one count of Discharging a Firearm near a Dwelling, and two counts of Use of a Firearm in the Commission of a Felony. Anyone with information about the shooting or who knew Patrick is urged to come forward.