Self-defense suggested in fatal shooting

Members of the Sin City Deciples motorcycle club have told police that the 38-year-old shooting victim in a deadly March shoot-out with other club members might have fired his gun first, according to recently unsealed court documents.

Dion Nixon was fatally wounded March 15 inside the door of his home in the James Park Trailer Court while several children and his girlfriend took cover inside, according to police records.

Suspected club members Richard Alexander Byrd, 48, Rufus Billups, 41, and Gregory Shariod Clark, 39, have all been arrested on first-degree murder charges in connection with the gun battle that left the ground outside Nixon’s trailer littered with about 24 spent 9mm and .40 caliber shell casings.

A club member who cooperated with law enforcement after Nixon’s death told police that earlier in the evening, a group of club members went to Billups’ home in the 2900 block of Bunting Avenue. The member, who said several of the club members’ wives and girlfriends were present, said Nixon and Billups were on the phone and “Nixon was disrespecting Rufus,” according to a recently unsealed affidavit for Clark’s arrest. Billups told a similar story when he was interviewed by law enforcement.

A second club member who spoke to police said the phone conversation with Nixon related to Nixon’s alleged treatment of his girlfriend, who is the ex-wife of a man who either is or was a Sin City Deciple, the affidavit said. The second member described a conversation where Billups told Nixon the woman was “property, and he can’t treat their sister like that,” according to the affidavit.


The Deciples’ accounts clash with the version of events told to police earlier by Nixon’s girlfriend, who said Nixon angered Byrd and Billups that night by telling them he didn’t want to join the Sin City Deciples, according to earlier reports.

Both club members said a group of the gang members drove to the trailer park at 480 28 1/4 Road, parked their bikes on 28 1/4 Road and confronted Nixon, who was outside and armed with a handgun, the report said.
“They followed Nixon to 480 28 1/2, No. 15,” the report quoted one club member as saying. “They were all taunting Nixon as they (were) following him.”

When Nixon arrived at his trailer, he stood on the porch, the affidavit said.
“(The club member) indicated a shot was fired, and he believed it was from Nixon toward them, but was not sure,” the report said.

The club member said he saw Byrd and Clark with handguns, and that Billups “always carries.” After the shooting – which left bullet holes in Nixon’s front door and window — the club members fled, the report said.

Byrd and Billups were arrested the next day. Clark was taken into custody April 2. Officers who searched his home found 9mm ammunition and a copy of the Sin City Deciples’ bylaws, among other items, the affidavit said.

When asked to give police an interview, Clark asked for an attorney. The Sin City Deciples, an outlaw motorcycle club that intentionally misspells its own name, is considered to be a “1-percenter” group by local law enforcement.

The term 1-percenter originated from an American Motorcycle Association statement that 99 percent of motorcyclists are law-abiding people, according to a report from the National Gang Intelligence Center. Some outlaw motorcycle groups have since adopted “1%” as a symbol.


USA - BN.