Co-Defendant Accused of Ruskin Avenue Homicide Gets April 2024 Trial Date

By Andrew Michaels - October 24, 2023
Attempted Murder | Court | Daily Stories | Homicides | Non-Fatal Shooting | Shooting | Suspects | Victims |

The second co-defendant charged with the murder of 28-year-old Donte Lee last year will head to trial in April 2024.

A Baltimore City prosecutor offered 20-year-old Daquan Hawks a plea of life, suspending all but 50 years, and five years of supervised probation for first-degree murder on Oct. 24 during reception court before Baltimore City Circuit Court Judge Melissa M. Phinn. The defendant and his defense counsel, Staci Pipkin, rejected the offer.

The prosecution informed the court that counsel agreed to begin Hawks’ four-day trial on April 8, 2024, after co-defendant Leonard Joyner’s trial, which is currently scheduled for Feb. 20, 2024. Judge Phinn said the Circuit Court judges’ schedules have not yet been released for that time, but agreed to assign a judge at a later date.

According to court documents, Lee and another man were inside a blue Honda and parked in the 2200 block of Ruskin Avenue on Jan. 24, 2022. When the victims got out of the car, Hawks and his 31-year-old co-defendant—who were parked at the corner of Ruskin and Parkwood avenues—got out of a gray car wearing masks and allegedly opened fire on the victims.

Baltimore Police Department (BPD) detectives later found video surveillance footage that showed Lee fire back at the co-defendants before he was shot. The second victim ran away from the scene and was not injured.

Lee was taken to University of Maryland Shock Trauma where he was pronounced dead.

Hawks was admitted to Johns Hopkins Hospital to treat a gunshot wound to his back. He is facing two counts of first-degree murder and firearm use in a felony or violent crime as well as single counts of attempted first-degree murder, having a loaded handgun on his person and in a vehicle and being minor in possession of a firearm.