Two men not indicted in fatal shooting

A Franklin County grand jury has decided not to indict two young men in a fatal shooting outside a Wendy’s in Franklinton after evidence showed they acted in self-defense.

Nigel L. Jackson, 18, and Taysen R. Hixon, 15, had been charged with delinquency counts of murder in the Nov. 22 death of Edwin Guerrero, 38, who was shot in the parking lot of the restaurant in the 1400 block of West Broad Street. Jackson was 17 at the time of the shooting.

Two weeks ago, Jackson and Hixon agreed to have their cases transferred from Juvenile Court to adult court for a grand jury to hear evidence.

The cases were presented “with all the facts from police, which included facts that were reflective of selfdefense, and no indictment has been filed,” county Prosecutor Ron O’Brien said.

Court records show that, in both cases, the grand jury on March 16 returned what is known as a “no bill,” indicating that the evidence was insufficient to indict Jackson or Hixon.

The shooting occurred after a group that included Jackson and Hixon, who were standing in the parking lot, exchanged words with Guerrero, who was sitting in his car in the drive-through lane.

Jonathan Klein, the attorney for Hixon, said surveillance video from the parking lot shows that Guerrero reacted by pulling into a parking space, getting out of his car and walking toward the young men, who had walked out of the frame. The shooting isn’t visible on the video.

Witnesses told police that Guerrero was shot after he pulled his gun first and fired at Jackson and Hixon, Klein said. Jackson was wounded in the exchange of gunfire and treated at a hospital before being released to Columbus police the following day.

“Thank God for video and for witnesses,” Klein said.

Jackson, of the East Side, still faces a delinquency charge of having a gun despite a previous delinquency finding. Hixon, of the Southwest Side, is charged with a delinquency count of carrying a concealed weapon.