A deadly shooting in Northeast Austin on Saturday that capped a 24-hour period of increased gun violence across the city, began as an argument over a daughter’s missing piggy bank, court documents say.
Marvin Elam III, 38, told police he shot 37-year-old Issac Dixon in self-defense after the pair’s bickering over the piggy bank escalated into a shootout while the two were in the parking lot of Mueller City View Apartments at 1106 Reinli Street at around 9:47 a.m. Saturday, according to an arrest affidavit.
The incident is still under investigation, authorities said.
Saturday’s deadly shooting was one of several shootings that took place late Friday into Saturday morning in Austin. In addition to Dixon’s death, four other people were injured during the string of gun violence.
On Saturday, officers arrived at the apartment complex on Reinli Street and found Dixon face down with his arms stretched above his head and a chrome semi-automatic pistol in his right hand. Dixon’s finger was still on the trigger, police said.
Austin-Travis County EMS attempted to save Dixon’s life, but were unsuccessful. He was pronounced dead at 10:18 a.m., the affidavit said.
Austin police detained Elam in front of a Target less than a mile away from the shooting after he matched the description given by witnesses.
Elam told police, “I shot him, but it was in self-defense.”
Authorities interviewed Elam, who said he and Dixon knew each other. Elam said the pair started having issues weeks before because Elam believed Dixon stole his daughter’s piggy bank.
Elam said he pulled up to the apartment complex with his daughter and her mother Saturday and saw Dixon walk outside toward his vehicle. He said Dixon got two guns out of his vehicle and placed them in his jacket pockets.
Elam said Dixon walked up to his vehicle and asked him, “What’s up?” Elam said he got out of the vehicle and Dixon asked him if he’d been telling people he stole the piggy bank.
Elam said he replied that if he was accusing him of that he would have told him something, not someone else, according to the affidavit.
Elam’s mother-in-law got between the two men after they began to argue, Elam told police. Elam said Dixon punched him on his cheek, the affidavit said.
Elam said one of Dixon’s guns fell out of his pocket and he bent down and picked it up. Dixon then pointed his second gun at Elam, he told police.
Dixon then began to fire the gun toward him with the mother-in-law still between them, according to Elam. Elam told his mother-in-law to step aside and then fired back, he told police.
Elam said Dixon fell to the ground and he continued to fire at him while he ran past.
Austin police asked Elam which way he ran, but he said he could not remember. Elam said the gun and his cellphone must have fallen out of his pocket while he was running.
However, investigators found the gun in a shallow creek on Reinli Street.
A witness told police he was in his apartment when he heard what he believed were two gunshots, according to the affidavit. He said he looked out and saw two men exchanging gunfire.
The witness said Dixon eventually fell to the ground and the other man shot him in the back three times. The shooter then ran away, the witness said.
Surveillance footage at the apartments showed Dixon push, not punch, Elam, investigators said. Elam kept his hand in his front, right pocket as if he was trying to secure something, the affidavit said.
The video skipped ahead 15 seconds, so the next clip showed Dixon fall to the ground. Investigators said Elam is then seen on video running up to Dixon, bending down and firing multiple times into his back.
Dixon tried to get up and pointed his gun again at the fleeing Elam but collapsed back to the ground, police said.
Investigators said Elam never bent down to pick up something from the ground like he claimed. Police concluded that if he never picked up a gun, then he already had a weapon on him.
Elam’s mother-in-law told police that before the shooting began, Elam said to Dixon: “Let’s put these guns down and fight like men.” She said Dixon fired first and she did not know where the gun Elam was holding came from.
Elam has five previous felony convictions. He remained in the Travis County Correctional Complex on Tuesday, charged with unlawful possession of a firearm by a felon, with bail set at $20,000.
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