On the afternoon of October 20, 2018, a tragic event unfolded in the 900 block of 5th Street, SE in Washington, D.C., that cut short the life of 19-year-old Antonio Dixon. The young man, a resident of Southeast D.C., was inside a building when he was shot multiple times. Despite his injuries, Dixon managed to flee, running around the corner before collapsing in the 400 block of I Street SE.
When police responded to a call about an unconscious person at approximately 3:53 p.m., they found him showing no signs of life. He was pronounced dead at the scene.
Antonio Dixon was a young man with dreams for the future. His grandmother, Crystal Dixon, shared that he had a love for fighter jets and had made plans to enlist in the Marines. This decision came after his participation in the Capital Guardian Youth Challenge Academy, a military-style GED program for at-risk youth. He left behind two younger siblings and a grieving family who remembered him as someone who wanted to make something of his life. The loss was deeply felt by his grandmother, who expressed her exhaustion with the violence that took her grandson.
In connection with the shooting, authorities arrested Jerome Myles in November 2018. Myles, who was 23 years old at the time, was charged with second-degree murder while armed, carrying a pistol without a license, and possessing a firearm during a crime of violence. He was initially held at the D.C. Jail but was later released into the High Intensity Supervision Program in 2019.
The legal proceedings that followed brought a conclusion that was met with frustration by Dixon's family. In December 2021, Jerome Myles entered into a plea deal where the second-degree murder charge was dropped. He pleaded guilty to carrying a pistol without a license. In April 2022, a DC Superior Court Judge sentenced Myles to a fully suspended 20-month sentence with 15 months of probation. His sentence also required him to complete 100 hours of community service and register as a gun offender. Dixon's family felt that pursuing a trial would have only caused them more distress.
