Friends, family mourn man slain outside his Indianapolis funeral home
INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) — Community members, family and friends on Wednesday gathered to remember the Rev. James Dixon III.
Dixon was killed during a robbery early Saturday morning near the funeral home he owns on North Belleview Place in Indianapolis.
U.S. Rep. Andre Carson, a Democrat from Indianapolis, spoke during a vigil for Dixon outside the funeral home on Wednesday night. “I want you to know as a community, faith leaders, elected officials, along with law enforcement, to stop this pipeline of criminality, that’s oftentimes celebrated in Black culture.”
A U.S. Army veteran, Dixon was known to help anyone out anyway he could, including drive-by funerals early in the COVID-19 pandemic.
“Drove his snowplow, plowing seniors’ driveways for no charge,” recalled the Rev. Ronald Covington.
Jashan Wallace-Carswell, 18, and Stacey Myron Fuller, 19, each face two counts of murder in connection with the fatal shooting of Dixon. Both men were arrested shortly after the shooting.
Despite the violent manner in which Dixon died, his daughter says she is trying to forgive the suspects. “Life is too short to be miserable. Life is too short to be angry. Life is too short to be hurt,” Ja’kell Dixon said.
Ja’kell believes that if her dad had the chance, he would have helped the men accused of robbing and killing him. “My dad, he saw the potential in people, just like, even though I don’t know these young men, I still see the potential in them.”
Funeral services for Dixon will be 11 a.m. Aug. 19 at Friendship Missionary Baptist Church, 1301 N. Goodlet Ave. Burial with full military honors will follow at Crown Hill Cemetery.
