Billy Hinkle, 44, was shot and killed on May 26, 2025, in Vallejo, California, at a long-standing homeless encampment known locally as the Island near Sacramento Street and Daniels Avenue. Officers arriving around 5:30 p.m. found three men with gunshot wounds; Hinkle and 59-year-old Craig Cousins were pronounced dead at the scene and a third man was taken to hospital in critical condition. The Solano County Coroner later identified Hinkle and Cousins as the victims.

Investigators quickly identified 45-year-old Eddie Charles Sample of Vallejo as the prime suspect, obtained an arrest warrant on May 30, and asked the U.S. Marshals Service to assist. A Marshals team arrested Sample on June 4 on Treasure Island; he was booked into Solano County Jail on suspicion of murder and was reported held without bail. Reporting also tied Sample to allegations of a parole violation and evading police.

Residents and friends described Hinkle and Cousins as peacekeepers who tried to calm conflicts at the encampment, which lies by wetlands and is connected by a narrow footbridge. Memorials appeared as the community grieved. What can readers who knew Hinkle or the encampment tell investigators about tensions or incidents there before May 26?