Man charged with fatally shooting cousin last year in Austin

A 22-year-old man is accused of fatally shooting his cousin last year in Austin.

Cook County Judge Maryam Ahmad ordered Quinton Dixon held without bail Tuesday on a charge of first-degree murder in the shooting last May 22 of Jerry Thornton.

Multiple surveillance cameras and license plate readers recorded a red Ford Fusion registered to Dixon following Thornton, 27, that night as he drove a rented Nissan Altima west on Interstate 290 and then got off at the Austin Boulevard exit.

The Ford then pulled up alongside the Altima in traffic and a masked gunman fired multiple shots at Thornton, striking him in the neck, prosecutors said.

Cell phone records allegedly placed Dixon’s phone at the scene of the shooting and prosecutors said Dixon had been issued a ticket while driving the car in Berwyn a day earlier.

A .40-caliber shell casing found at the scene of the shooting was later matched to shell casings that were found in the glove box and stuck in the windshield wiper area of Dixon’s car after it was located in front of his Austin home four days after the shooting, prosecutors said.

Chicago police

Areas of Dixon’s car also tested positive for gunpowder residue, prosecutors said.

After the shooting, Dixon allegedly texted his grandfather and talked about leaving town. He also mentioned the lack of a description of the gunman’s car in news reports about the shooting, prosecutors said.

Prosecutors said both Dixon and Thornton worked for the same drug dealer, but no motive for the shooting was provided during the hearing.

Dixon works in a warehouse and lives with his partner and their child, an assistant public defender said.

He was expected back in court March 21.