Prosecutors allege Anthony Cruz killed Kervin Dixon over a simmering spat that began when Cruz’s then-girlfriend Vanessa Mack’s mom accused her of stealing a big settlement check worth $10,000 to $30,000.
Dixon was the mother’s boyfriend.
A call on speakerphone between the women grew heated as Dixon and Cruz traded threats.
Dixon was working on a car with another man near 35th Avenue and Washington Street in Gary just south of Indiana University Northwest when Cruz’s blue Saab drove by on Nov. 17, 2022 and Dixon was shot three times in the back, Special Prosecutor John Meyers told jurors in opening arguments Monday.
It was a “cold-blooded murder,” he said.
Cruz, 46, of Gary was charged with murder, and one felony and misdemeanor count each of unlawful carrying of a handgun.
Prosecutors filed a firearms enhancement with his charges, which could add another 5-20 years to a potential sentence if convicted. Murder carries a 45- to 65-year term. He has pleaded not guilty.
His defense lawyer Bob Varga argued Cruz wasn’t in the car and Mack was the one who shot Dixon. She had access to the car and had the gun when she was arrested, he said.
The man with Dixon did not identify Cruz as the shooter in a photo lineup. Varga said the man changed that account nearly a year later in testimony.
He wanted “justice for his dead friend,” he said.
The lawyer also said there was no fingerprint or DNA testing on the gun.
Mack, then 18 at the shooting, was 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, records show.
Witnesses alleged Cruz had shot at Dixon in the past and their conflict went back to a $30,000 check Mack “improperly cashed,” according to the affidavit. Cruz had subsequently threatened to kill Dixon over it, charges allege.
Gary Police arrived around 11 a.m. Nov 17, 2022 to an apartment complex on the 3500 block of Washington Street, documents state. Dixon was found shot, lying in the street. He was taken, clinging to life, to Methodist Hospital where he was later pronounced dead by the Lake County Coroner’s Office.
Witnesses said Dixon was having his car jumped when a light-skinned black man with a mustache drove up in a dark car and opened fire in his direction, then sped off, charges state.
A police database showed Cruz’s car and description matched the details witnesses provided, and Gary Police put out an alert to neighboring police departments.
A Hammond patrol officer arrested Cruz and Mack near Calumet Avenue and Michigan St., charges state.
Mack admitted having a handgun in her jacket pocket. Police later believed it was the same gun used in the shooting, documents allege.
Cruz spoke with officers, denying knowing Dixon, or being in Gary’s Glen Park section that day. A search warrant found a 9 mm magazine, marijuana and meth in Mack’s purse.
Part of an “E” from Cruz’s Saab SE model was found at the scene, charges state. Indiana University Northwest Police also reported their cameras caught the shooting on surveillance, the affidavit states.
Meyers played the black-and-white video filmed from a distance, which showed a car driving by, then a man falling to the ground.
The trial before Judge Samuel Cappas continues this week.
