Michael Dawkins

Just a week after his 22nd birthday, Michael Dawkins, a young Black man, stepped out into a cold December night in Denver, Colorado. It was Sunday, December 19, 1999, and in the moments that followed, his life was cut short by a sudden eruption of gunfire outside the New Editions Bar in the city’s Cole neighborhood. The shooting left another person wounded but alive. For more than two decades, the identity of the person who pulled the trigger and fled into the night has remained a mystery, leaving a permanent void in the lives of his family.

The incident occurred near the intersection of East 34th Avenue and Gilpin Street, an area that has contended with episodes of violence over the years. Investigators officially recorded the location as the 1600 block of East Bruce Randolph Avenue. When Denver Police Department officers arrived at the scene, they found Michael fatally wounded. Despite the presence of witnesses, accounts did not lead to a clear description of a suspect, who had vanished immediately after the shooting. The investigation, case number 1999-047603, was launched, but no arrests were ever made.

Public records offer few details about who Michael Dawkins was as a person. Unlike many victims of homicide, there are no readily available obituaries or public remembrances from friends that paint a picture of his life, his work, his passions, or his personality. This silence in the public record adds another layer of tragedy to his unsolved murder, leaving a portrait of a young man defined more by the brutal manner of his death than the life he lived.

However, a deeper look into public family records reveals a story of repeated and heartbreaking loss. Obituaries for several of Michael's maternal uncles, including Andrew Ware who passed away in 2020 and Ronald Lee Ware who died in 2022, list Michael as one of their deceased nephews. These family documents connect Michael to a family that has been tragically impacted by violence on multiple occasions. The same obituaries also list other nephews lost to violence, including Darvell Ware and Nolan Ware.

The death of Michael's cousin, Nolan Ware, is a particularly grim echo of his own fate. In April 2015, Nolan, also 22 years old, was shot and killed just blocks from where Michael was murdered sixteen years earlier. Nolan was killed on Gilpin Street while attending a funeral for his great-uncle, who had himself been a victim of a drive-by shooting two weeks prior. This pattern of violence underscores a devastating reality for the Ware family and the Cole community.

The year 1999 was a difficult one for Denver, with a total of 65 homicides recorded in the city. Michael's death was one of many that contributed to the city's struggle with violent crime during that period. The Cole neighborhood, a historically Black community in north-central Denver, has long been a vibrant and close-knit area, but it has also faced challenges with poverty and crime, including gang activity, that have fluctuated over the decades.

Today, Michael Dawkins's case is classified as a cold case, handled by the Denver Police Department's Cold Case Unit. Investigators continue to seek information that could finally bring a resolution to the family that has waited for answers for so long. The Colorado Bureau of Investigation includes Michael's case in its online cold case files, a quiet testament to a life taken too soon and a crime that remains unpunished. No reward has been publicly offered. Anyone with information regarding this case is asked to please contact the Denver Police Department.