Police say conversation with woman about tattoos led to deadly shooting
NEWPORT NEWS — Michael Faison Jr. was standing outside the front door of a Newport News 7-Eleven Friday afternoon when a woman in a powder blue dress walked past and caught his eye.
Faison, 24, struck up a conversation with the woman about tattoos, and she “stopped, turned and walked back towards him,” court records say. The woman said later she didn’t think Faison, who sported a smiley face tattoo on his arm, would be a very good tattoo artist, but she “gave him a chance and gave him her phone number.”
The conversation didn’t sit right with the woman’s boyfriend, Divine Rahim Jackson, 28, who saw the pair talking and walked over from pumping his gas.
He’s now charged with second-degree murder in Faison’s death.
Court records filed Monday in Newport News General District Court said the woman tried to stop Jackson, but he “pushed past her” to confront Faison — asking him why he was talking to his girlfriend and slapping him twice.
“Divine drew a handgun from the area of his waist,” then “stepped towards Michael Faison and pointed the pistol at Michael’s face at close range,” according to
the complaint by Newport News Police Detective C.A. Ruhlen.
“Faison took a step backward and can be seen lifting both of his hands in a non-threatening manner,” the complaint said.
But after Jackson held the gun toward Faison for a short time, a fight between the men ensued. The complaint said Jackson was then able to break free and shot Faison in the face. Jackson and the woman then ran over to the black BMW sedan and fled from the parking lot at about 5:30 p.m.
Faison was taken to Riverside Regional Medical Center, where he was pronounced dead just before 10 p.m.
Investigators learned that Jackson and the woman had eaten at a Mexican restaurant a few blocks from the 7-Eleven, located in the 12400 block of Warwick Boulevard near Todd Stadium.
Surveillance footage from the restaurant shows Jackson pulling out his weapon — a silver and black handgun with an extended magazine — and dangling it in front of the woman’s face as the two sat in a booth.
Police found the BMW in the 800 block of Lassiter Drive at about 6:30 p.m., about an hour after the shooting, and placed it under surveillance. Just after midnight, the woman was spotted walking a few blocks away, and was detained.
The woman told detectives that she and Jackson, a rapper she knew as “Sauce,” had been dating for about three months.
Officers allowed the woman to call her mother, telling her that police were getting a search warrant for her mother’s house where investigators believed Jackson was holed up. Officers soon located Jackson at a home in the 600 block of Aqua Vista Drive.
A team of tactical officers went to the home and negotiations resulted in the suspect surrendering shortly afterward,” Newport News Police said in a news release. Jackson was charged with second-degree murder and using a firearm in a felony.
Court documents said Jackson formerly lived in the Bronx, New York, and has lived in the Hampton Roads area for about two years. He told a magistrate that he wasn’t working and had some mental health issues, such as post-traumatic stress disorder.
Faison’s family couldn’t be immediately reached for comment.
But Rob Gordon, 27, said he’s been friends with Faison for about three years, and the two worked together at a local auto repair business.
“He was bubbly,” Gordon said. “He tried to make everybody happy and put a smile on everybody’s face.”
Known as “Mikey,” Faison grew up in Newport News and graduated from Menchville High School, Gordon said. As for auto repair work, he said Faison “was learning, trying to learn the trade.”
A judge appointed the Newport News public defender’s office to represent Jackson, who is next scheduled to appear in court on Oct. 17.