ELYRIA — The man charged with killing Gas USA clerk Qiana Walton with a shot to the head served more than eight years in prison for shooting someone else in the head, according to authorities in Illinois.

Vincent W. Jackson Jr., 27, was 16 on Sept. 10, 1997, when he shot a man in the head after test-driving a car, according to Tandra Simonton of the Cook County state’s attorney’s office.

Jackson crashed the car he was test-driving and then argued with the victim, Simonton said.

“The defendant (Jackson) became enraged, produced a handgun and shot at the victim, hitting the victim in the head,” she said. “Fortunately, the victim survived.”

Walton was imprisoned in January 2000 and was released on May 19 — just 26 days before he is alleged to have shot Walton with a semiautomatic rifle at the gas station where she worked on Middle Avenue.

He had been staying with his sister, Aja Jackson, on West Avenue in Elyria, according to her husband, James Jackson.

James Jackson said he has not been able to speak with his brother-in-law, but he said he is hoping against hope that Vincent Jackson did not do the crime.

Meanwhile, the state’s crime lab is checking for fingerprints or other evidence on the gun that Elyria police believe was used in the killing, according to Lt. Andy Eichenlaub. It was found next to a home near Gas USA, he said.

Eichenlaub said Tuesday that police had not recovered the money taken in the robbery or the clothing or skullcap worn by the assailant, which may contain evidence such as blood.

Meanwhile, a community continued to grieve for the loss of Walton, who was 27. A vigil attended by religious and community leaders was held at the gas station Tuesday night.

Phyllis Denley, of LaGrange, said she worked with Walton at Value City several years ago and wept when she found out she had been killed.

“I know somebody like that has to be in God’s kingdom,” Denley said. “She was such a nice person — I never saw her angry. She had the prettiest white teeth, and she was very, very tall.”

She was 6-foot-1, according to her father, Robert Walton Sr. of Lorain.

Visitation will be Friday from 11 a.m. until time of service at noon at Faith Ministries Christian Center, 1306 Euclid Ave., Lorain.

Robert Walton Sr. said many people have brought gifts of food to the family’s home in Lorain.

“I never felt this much love — I didn’t know this many people loved my family,” he said.

County Prosecutor Dennis Will said he does not know if his office will get the case file from Elyria police before a preliminary hearing Monday in Elyria Municipal Court.

Will said he cannot talk about how his office will handle the case until he sees the file, but he did say that one of the circumstances that allow for the death penalty to be considered in Ohio is when a murder takes place during a robbery.

Contact Cindy Leise at 329-7245 or cleise@chroniclet.com.

 

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