Inset, left to right: Kirwin Hinds (Facebook) and Otis Blakes (DeKalb County Sheriff's Office). Background: Authorities in the area where Blakes killed Hinds (WSB).
A 34-year-old man in Georgia may spend the rest of his days behind bars for fatally shooting a parking services worker in the head during a confrontation over a boot on his brother's car, an encounter captured by the victim's body camera.
DeKalb County Superior Judge Shondeana C. Morris on Tuesday sentenced Otis Blakes to serve life in prison with the possibility of parole, plus five years for the 2025 slaying of 47-year-old Kirwin Hinds, authorities announced. Morris handed down the sentence after a jury on Friday found Blakes guilty of malice murder, felony murder, aggravated assault and possession of a firearm during the commission of a felony.
According to a press release from the DeKalb County District Attorney's Office, officers responded shortly after 7 a.m. July 19, 2025, to reports of a person shot at an apartment complex in the 2300 block of Peachwood Circle in Atlanta. Upon arriving, first responders found Hinds suffering from multiple gunshot wounds to the head. He was pronounced dead at the scene.
Hinds worked for Empire Parking Services and had been dispatched to remove a boot from a vehicle that was illegally parked in an accessible space. He was wearing a body camera in accordance with his employer's policy.
The recording captured an argument between Hinds and Christopher Blakes, 30, who was demanding that the boot be removed.
"Hinds repeatedly asked for money to pay the boot removal fee and tried to create space between himself and the man yelling at him," prosecutors wrote in the release. "The video shows Christopher shove Hinds, who shoved him back, knocking Christopher to the ground. While their altercation continued on the ground Defendant Otis Blakes approached the two men and opened fire on Hinds, shooting him in the head."
The body camera footage showed that Blakes shot the unarmed Hinds a total of three times, twice in the head, Atlanta-based ABC affiliate WSB reported.
Otis and Christopher Blakes remained at the apartment complex and were taken into custody without incident, according to the DA's office.
During sentencing, Blakes' defense attorney told the court that he had been honorably discharged from the Marines in 2016 and had no criminal history, WSB reported. The prosecutor also pointed to a moment roughly seven minutes into the body camera footage when Blakes can be heard saying, "Please forgive me," which the state argued demonstrated remorse.
Hinds' sister, Shermain, told WSB-TV that her brother was a husband and father who simply wanted to work and provide for his family.
"You take an honest job, just wanting to come home to your family and provide for your family," Shermain said. "And that's Kirwin."
Christopher Blakes faces separate misdemeanor charges of simple battery and disorderly conduct in connection with the fatal encounter. He failed to appear for a December hearing, prompting Morris to issue a bench warrant. He had not answered those charges as of his brother's sentencing, WSB reported.
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