A jury deliberated briefly Wednesday before acquitting a Gary man of gunning down the boyfriend of his then-girlfriend’s mother.
Anthony Cruz, 46, was on trial this week, charged with murder and a gun enhancement in the Nov. 17, 2022 shooting death of Kervin Dixon, 50.
“We are pleased with the results,” defense lawyer Bob Varga said by phone after the verdict.
“I would agree there were several obstacles they had to overcome,” he said. “The only independent eyewitness was given (a photo lineup) and said it wasn’t him.”
Special Prosecutor John Meyers argued Cruz shot Dixon after a growing feud over money. That August, Cruz’s girlfriend Vanessa Mack’s mother accused her of stealing a settlement check worth $10,000-$30,000. She denied it.
On that speakerphone call, both men jumped on with Dixon, then Cruz started trading threats.
On Nov. 13, 2022, Mack went to the mother’s apartment to get a cat back after the couple spent a few months in Tennessee. Dixon appeared, firing a warning shot, then pointed the gun at her.
Mack, now 21, testified Tuesday that Cruz spotted Dixon on Nov. 17, turned his blue Saab onto 35th Avenue from Broadway, then gunned him down.
She is charged with assisting a criminal, a Level 5 felony; possession of methamphetamine, a Level 6 felony; and misdemeanor counts of assisting a criminal and marijuana possession. She was granted immunity specifically when she testified in the case.
Varga — with co-counsel Tom Olson — told jurors Wednesday the case rested on Mack’s credibility and the evidence wasn’t there to put Cruz in the car with a gun.
Witness Larry Saxton, with Dixon trying to jump a car, said a light-skinned man with a mustache was the shooter.
He was not able to point to Cruz when given a six-person photo lineup hours later, Varga argued. However, around a year later, he identified Cruz as the shooter at a court hearing.
“I don’t know what happened,” Varga told jurors Wednesday. “What I do know is (the prosecutor) can’t put (Cruz) in the car without Ms. Mack.”