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Rockingham and Caswell District Attorney’s Offices – District 22 News Release • March 14, 2023
Martin Calvin Cox, Jr. Sentenced to Life Without Parole
(Wentworth, NC) – On March 9, 2023, Martin Calvin Cox, Jr., 43, pled guilty in Rockingham County Superior Court to two counts of First-Degree Murder and one count of Attempted First-Degree Murder. Senior Resident Superior Court Judge Stan Allen sentenced Cox to Life in Prison without the possibility of Parole.
On the afternoon of May 24, 2021, Isaac Fitzgerald, his wife, Haneefa Fitzgerald, and their friend Kwandre Carey stopped at the Love’s Travel Stop in Reidsville on their way home to Virginia after a multi-day, multi-state motorcycle trip. Once they were finished eating, Isaac and Haneefa got on Isaac’s motorcycle, Kwandre got on his, and they left to return home. As they pulled out of Love’s Travel Stop, Martin Cox began following them in a red 2019 Dodge Ram 4500. As they drove North on U.S. 29, Cox caught up to them and fired several shots with a 9mm handgun. All three were struck by the rounds, but Haneefa and Kwandre were fatally wounded. Martin Cox fled the scene and was apprehended the next day by the Kentucky State Police while traveling through Bullitt County, Kentucky. He was then extradited back to Rockingham County to stand trial.
The Rockingham County Sheriff’s Office solved this case by conducting an outstanding, professional, and thorough investigation. As a result, they were quickly able to identify Cox as the perpetrator of this monstrous crime and obtain a warrant for his arrest.
District Attorney Jason Ramey said: “Martin Cox viciously murdered two wonderful people that he did not know and had not encountered before this tragic day just because he did not like the patches they were wearing on their vests. Haneefa, like Isaac, was recently retired from the United States Marine Corps and was only 42 years old. Kwandre was a 24-year-old truck driver who loved traveling the United States on his motorcycle. I commend Sheriff Sam Page, Lead Investigator Peyton Smith, Captain Mark Kennon, Lt. Jonathan Cheek, Sgt. Angie Webster, Detective Payton Lingle, Detective Graham Staley, the Reidsville Police Department, the North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation, the Kentucky State Police, and Assistant District Attorneys Stephanie Reese, Katy Gregg, and Veronica Edmisten for obtaining justice for the families of the victims of this horrific crime and making sure Martin Cox will spend the rest of his life behind bars. I pray this sentence will bring the many, many people who loved them dearly some peace.”
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