Andrea Tucker

Andrea Tucker, a 40-year-old Black woman and mother of two, had just returned to her Detroit home after dropping her children off at school on the morning of November 17, 2021. As she pulled into the driveway of her house on Carlisle Street, a suspect approached her from behind and shot her to death. An autopsy found she had suffered several gunshot wounds from a semi-automatic weapon.

The investigation immediately focused on her ex-boyfriend, 45-year-old David Hammond, who police named as a person of interest. At the time of the murder, Hammond was out on a personal bond while facing charges of domestic violence, felonious assault, second-degree arson, and first-degree home invasion for prior incidents in which Tucker was the victim. She had recently testified against him and was expected to do so again. Just five days before she was killed, Tucker had filed a police report stating that Hammond was stalking her, providing doorbell video as evidence and reporting that he had placed a GPS tracker on her boyfriend’s car. Police requests to have his bond revoked were not approved by prosecutors.

Following the shooting, Hammond was taken into custody after being located at a Toledo motel with $14,000 in cash. His attorney maintained that Hammond had a solid alibi, stating he was in a virtual court hearing at the time of the murder. The investigation soon led police to a second person, and on November 22, 2021, they arrested Hammond’s 19-year-old son, Jarren Cox of Wixom.

The Wayne County Prosecutor’s Office charged Jarren Cox with first-degree murder, felony firearm, and witness intimidation. Prosecutors stated that the evidence would show Cox was the person who actually shot and killed Andrea Tucker. Cox was later convicted of second-degree murder. In December 2022, he was sentenced to serve 30 to 50 years in prison.