Jermaine Dixon, a 46-year-old Black male from Queens, New York, was killed in a brazen, execution-style shooting on the morning of September 6, 2021. The incident occurred around 7:50 a.m. in South Ozone Park as Dixon was getting into his car on 132nd Street, near South Conduit Avenue. The assailant, who was disguised in what appeared to be traditional Hasidic Jewish clothing, including a long black coat and a hat, ran up to Dixon and shot him multiple times in the head at point-blank range.
Emergency services pronounced Dixon dead at the scene. Surveillance footage captured the chilling attack, showing the gunman appearing to be working on a nearby car for several hours before ambushing Dixon. Though Dixon was carrying a significant amount of cash, reported to be around $10,000, the shooter fled without taking the money.
The investigation into the murder of Jermaine Dixon led authorities to 53-year-old Ron Reeder of Teaneck, New Jersey. Reeder was arrested in a police raid at his New Jersey apartment on February 23, 2023, following a more than year-long investigation. He was subsequently extradited to New York to face charges. Investigators believe Reeder was a hired hitman, and the killing is thought to be connected to Dixon's past. Dixon was a former member of a Brooklyn gang known as the 'Patio Crew' and had been released from federal prison less than a year before his death, after serving nearly two decades for a 1992 murder and drug charges. During his time in prison, Dixon had reportedly become a model inmate, even earning a college degree.
Following his arrest, Ron Reeder was indicted by a grand jury and arraigned on a four-count indictment charging him with murder in the first degree, murder in the second degree, and two counts of criminal possession of a weapon in the second degree. If convicted, he faces the possibility of life in prison without the chance of parole. During the raid that led to Reeder's arrest, two other individuals were apprehended on charges related to weapons, drugs, and identity theft, although their direct connection to Dixon's murder has not been clarified. The motive for the targeted killing remains under investigation, though law enforcement sources have suggested it could be linked to the narcotics trade.
