South Bend man charged in May 2023 murder

ST. JOSEPH COUNTY, Ind. - A South Bend man was charged with murder in connection with a May 2023 shooting that killed one man near Madison and Taylor streets, according to the St. Joseph County Prosecutor’s Office.

The prosecutor’s office charged 32-year-old Adonis Hawkins with one count of murder for the death of 37-year-old Lecarrington Underwood of South Bend.

Charges were filed in August, but Hawkins was recently arrested out of state and returned to Indiana, where he’s now in custody in the St. Joseph County Jail on no bond.

The investigation began on May 3, when Underwood walked into a local hospital with a gunshot wound to his back. There, he told security he was shot near the intersection of Madison and Taylor streets in South Bend.

Underwood died at the hospital from his injuries.

During the investigation, police learned Underwood and Hawkins were acquaintances, and that Underwood often visited Hawkins at his home in the 500 block of W. Madison.

A witness told police that on May 3, they heard gunfire and saw someone who police said matched Hawkins’ description in the area. Hawkins’ phone data later confirmed he was in the area when the shooting happened, according to police reports.

Another witness said Hawkins admitted to shooting Underwood in the back during a dispute near his home, police said.

At the time Hawkins allegedly admitted this, police hadn’t told the media or public where on the body Underwood was shot.