Man convicted of 2021 killing at Kent gas station, dumped victim’s body in gutter

A jury this week convicted Joseph Bert Dixon of one count of murder in the first degree with a firearm enhancement, two counts of assault in the first degree with a firearm enhancement, and unlawful possession of a firearm in the first degree.

Prosecutors said Dixon approached a car stopped at a Circle K gas station in September 2021 and opened fire. He shot Devon Hill in the head, killing him instantly, and wounded two other men. They ran away and collapsed, according to charging documents.

Shooter dumped victim’s body in gutter, fled to Bellingham

The attack was “without warning and without provocation,” prosecutors said.

“The defendant jumped in the driver’s seat and took off in the vehicle, with Devon Hill dead in the back seat,” the documents said. “A short distance away, the defendant callously dumped Hill’s body in the gutter, abandoned the vehicle, and called for a getaway ride. Later, when he arrived in Bellingham at a motel, he told witnesses that he needed to shower because he had ‘blood and brains’ on his pants.”

One of the wounded men was a friend of Dixon’s, according to the documents.

More than a week later, police located Dixon, but he tried to ram police and civilian vehicles in an attempt to escape. A 4-year-old child was in the car with him at the time.

Police shot Dixon and took him into custody.

Dixon has a violent criminal history, with 10 prior felony convictions, prosecutors said. Sentencing is scheduled for April 17.