On Sunday afternoon, December 5, 2021, 27-year-old Mari Martin was found in the street at 1501 West 25th Street in Pine Bluff, Arkansas, suffering apparent gunshot wounds. Police arrived about 1:31 p.m.; Martin was taken to Jefferson Regional Medical Center and later died. His death was recorded as the city’s 27th homicide that year.

Investigators say the shooting followed an altercation involving Martin and two other people that escalated into an exchange of gunfire. Surveillance footage from a nearby home reportedly shows Martin brandishing and firing a handgun, the others returning fire, and a physical struggle in which Martin dropped his weapon. At that moment one of the other individuals allegedly fired two shots that struck Martin.

A 24-year-old, Kendrick Hunter, was identified as the person accused of firing the fatal shots. A warrant for first-degree murder was issued; he later turned himself in on February 22, 2022, and was charged. His bond was initially set at $500,000, later reduced to $150,000, and his release prompted public concern from Martin’s family. Does anyone have information about the events on West 25th Street that afternoon?