A Texas man with a gun is in custody now after he allegedly killed a repeat shoplifter who had attacked two female employees during yet another robbery.
Just before 7:30 p.m. on Nov. 29, Dallas police received a report about a shooting at a Family Dollar store in Oak Cliff, a subsection of Dallas that has had its share of violent crime. When police arrived, they discovered 26-year-old Phillip Betts lying on the ground, dead from an apparent gunshot wound, and the man who allegedly shot him, 47-year-old Kevin Jackson Sr., was there as well.
Witnesses then explained the series of events that led to Betts’ death. Earlier that evening, a female assistant manager recognized Betts lurking in the store. She claimed that he had robbed the store on several occasions in the past, so she demanded that he return all the stolen items in his possession and leave the store.
When Betts did not initially comply, the woman grabbed his backpack. Betts then briefly stepped outside but returned a short time later and attacked the manager who had kicked him out, “striking her multiple times with his fists,” reports say.
Another female employee witnessed Betts assault the manager and sprayed him with Mace in an attempt to force him off the property once again. The struggle between Betts and the two women continued, and at some point, Betts wound up fighting at least one of the women behind the store register.
Jackson reportedly entered the store at about that time, saw the altercation between Betts and the two women, and yelled, “Move!” Once the women complied with the directive, Jackson supposedly took out a gun and fired a single shot at Betts. Though firefighters attempted to provide lifesaving assistance, Betts died from his injuries at the scene.
Jackson told police that he believed the women were in danger, and police admitted that Betts had been committing a robbery when he was shot. They also admitted that the gun used in this case is “legal.”
However, Dallas police still arrested Jackson and charged him with murder. First of all, they said, Betts “did not have any weapons at the time of the incident.” They also pointed to surveillance footage of the incident, which, they claimed, demonstrates that Betts had already moved away from the two women and toward the exit and therefore no longer posed a threat.
Jackson, who has no known criminal history, was booked into Lew Sterrett Jail and is being held on $100,000 bond. It is unclear when he is next scheduled to appear in court.
He should get a medal, not jail time!!!