Attorney General Ken Paxton’s Cold Case Unit Helps Solve Decade Old Homicide in Texarkana
October 21, 2024 – Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton’s Cold Case and Missing Persons Unit assisted the Texarkana Police Department in solving a 2014 homicide, leading to the arrest of 27-year-old Cameron Cheatham for the murder of Xavier Rollins.
On June 17, 2014, Rollins was found shot to death outside his apartment located on the 1000 block of College Drive in Texarkana. Numerous witness interviews were conducted at the time and evidence collected at the crime scene underwent DNA testing but the case remained unsolved. In March 2024, the Texarkana Police Department requested assistance with forensic testing from Attorney General Paxton’s Cold Case and Missing Persons Unit.
The OAG collaborated with Texarkana detectives throughout the 2024 investigation and provided resources including expedited forensic testing, assistance in the location and arrest of the suspect, and additional investigatory assistance.
Attorney General Paxton established the Cold Case and Missing Persons Unit in 2021 to assist local law enforcement agencies in investigating and prosecuting unsolved cases. In 2023, the Cold Case and Missing Persons Unit received a federal grant from Bureau of Justice Assistance to help solve cold cases that have DNA profiles development from crime scene evidence which have not been linked to a suspect. Because forensic testing can be cost prohibitive for many agencies, the federal grant allows the Attorney General Paxton to provide testing at no charge to police departments across the state of Texas. The grant also funds a full-time investigator for the Cold Case and Missing Persons Unit to assist agencies with their investigations that fall under the terms of the grant.
If you have additional information about the Xavier Rollins case, contact Crime Stoppers at 903-793-STOP, or Texarkana Detective Thomas Shaddix at 903-798-3151.
If you have information about another unsolved cold case in the state of Texas, submit a tip at https://www.texasattorneygeneral.gov/coldcasetips.
For more about Attorney General Paxton’s Cold Case and Missing Person’s Unit, click here.
