In the early morning hours of April 30, 2022, gunfire shattered the pre-dawn quiet on 6th Avenue NW in Decatur, Alabama. Responders found 41-year-old Charles Edward Baker Jr. with a gunshot wound. He was taken to Decatur Morgan Hospital and died from his injuries, prompting a homicide investigation by the Decatur Police Department’s Violent Crimes Unit.

Investigators identified a suspect the same day and sought 39-year-old Cedric Maxwell Reynolds. A murder warrant was issued, and Reynolds was located and arrested without incident on April 30, 2022. He was booked into the Morgan County Jail and held without bond as the case moved into the Morgan County judicial system.

If anyone saw activity on 6th Avenue NW that morning or has information about Charles Baker Jr. or the events leading up to the shooting, please share what is known.