HARFORD COUNTY, Md. — A decade after a 26-year-old man was shot and killed at an Aberdeen apartment complex, Harford County detectives are still searching for witnesses to come forward in what has become a ten-year cold case.
Richard Jackson was visiting a friend at the Perrywood Gardens Apartment Complex in Aberdeen just before 3 a.m. on a chilly March morning in 2015, deputies said.
Jackson's friend wasn't home, but he stayed to chat with others in a common stairwell. That's when someone wearing a mask approached.
"It appeared Mr. Jackson was familiar with the suspect, he had walked down a series of steps to the first landing and was talking to the suspect at the time he was murdered. The suspect produced a handgun and shot him in the back of the head, pretty quickly and unexpected," said Detective Sergeant Chris Maddox from the Harford County Sheriff's Office.
Investigators believe this was a targeted attack on Jackson, who was working to turn his life around at the time of his murder.
WATCH: Deputies believe they have a suspect in 2015 Aberdeen murder, but need more
"He fell on some hard times. He made some bad decisions, I think earlier on in his life, but he was from what we gathered from his friends, he was turning his life around and was trying to straighten things out," Maddox said.
After 10 years of investigative work, Maddox said they have a suspect in mind, but aren't naming him publicly. The suspect is currently serving time for a separate assault in which a woman nearly lost her life.
"We believe the individual who did this murder is a very dangerous person. Mr. Jackson, we believe, thought of him as an associate, and did not really have any fear at the time of him doing something violent like this. And for him to turn like that, fatally shoot Mr. Jackson, I think these other individuals in the area who potentially witnessed it, are just afraid to come forward," Maddox said.
Investigators continue examining evidence from the scene, including a phone left behind that they've swabbed for DNA and are working to access.
"There's people that we believe are out there that know the cause behind this, what caused this incident, and it would be nice to get justice for his family. His family are still living in the area relatively close," Maddox said.
Anyone with information can contact Metro Crimestoppers anonymously at 1-866-7-LOCKUP or the Harford County Sheriff's Office at 410-838-6600.
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