Man sentenced to 73 years for killing 1, wounding 2 at Kent gas station in 2021
Jul 2, 2026, 4:13 PM
A Kent Police Department vehicle can be seen on a city street. (Photo courtesy of the Kent Police Department)
(Photo courtesy of the Kent Police Department)
A King County judge has sentenced Joseph Dixon to 73 years in prison for a deadly 2021 shooting at a Kent Circle K.
Prosecutors said Dixon walked up to a car at the gas station and opened fire, killing Devon Hill and wounding two other men.
Investigators said Dixon fled in the vehicle with Hill’s body still inside, then dumped the body in a gutter and abandoned the car.
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Dixon was found guilty in March 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.
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,” court documents stated. “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 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.
Frank Lenzi is the News Director for KIRO Newsradio. Read more of his stories here.
