A man accused of murder after intervening in an alleged theft and assault at a Dallas-area Family Dollar store in November 2022 was cleared by a grand jury last month.
Kevin Jackson was arrested and charged with murder after police said he fatally shot 26-year-old Phillp Betts inside a discount store on Lancaster Road in Southern Dallas on Nov. 29, 2022.
An arrest affidavit obtained by NBC 5 last fall said Betts got into a fight with an employee of the store who took his backpack after accusing him of shoplifting. Betts denied stealing any property and reportedly punched the woman several times before another employee sprayed him with mace.
As the two female employees struggled with Betts, Jackson walked into the store and saw the confrontation.
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In the arrest document, Jackson is said to have waived his rights and told investigators he shot Betts because he became concerned for the safety of the two women being attacked and because he was fearful they’d be seriously hurt.
He said he told the women to move away from the man and then fired at the man's leg one time.
After the shooting, Betts ran out of the store, collapsed and later died. Jackson picked up his fired cartridge casing and a live round and placed his gun in his car while he waited for the police to arrive.
Police said surveillance video showed Betts assaulting the women and being hit by both of them as he ran toward the door. Police said the women then moved away from him moments before Jackson fired his gun.
Police said Betts was not armed and that he didn't present a deadly threat when he was shot. Dallas Police arrested Jackson and charged him with murder.
“Detectives looked at all of the evidence. And at the time of the shooting, there was no imminent danger of a deadly force confrontation,” said Sgt. Warren Mitchell with the Dallas Police Department in November 2022.
A Dallas County grand jury disagreed and "no billed" Jackson in July, meaning they didn't believe there was enough evidence to support a criminal charge.
