A Lake County judge found a Chicago Heights, Illinois man guilty of murder Wednesday in the July 1, 2021 fatal shooting of an 18-year-old Lynwood, Illinois man near a Gary Boys and Girls Club.
Jason D. Hinton, 26, was convicted of murder and robbery resulting in serious bodily injury after a two-day bench trial in Lake Superior Court in Crown Point. Prosecutors also added a firearms enhancement, which could add an additional 5-20 years to a prison term.
A sentencing hearing is set for Sept. 23.
He is one of five people implicated in the shooting death of Jacquice Baylock, 18, of Lynwood, Illinois, near 19th Avenue and Taney Drive, by the former Tolleston Middle School, now a Boys and Girls Club.
Their family was “happy we got justice,” LaTonya Newman, Baylock’s mother, said afterward.
The state’s star witness, Jazmin Garcia, testified Wednesday that her boyfriend Devin Barron forced her to lure Baylock to Gary so he and three friends could kill him, charging documents allege. He was “jealous” of her relationship with Baylock, she told police.
Public charges are not listed against Barron. Prosecutors alleged Hinton and Barron ambushed and shot Baylock to death before stealing parts of $2,000 in cash he carried on him.
Garcia was also charged with murder. However, she pleaded guilty to a lesser charge in April, aggravated battery, a level 3 felony. If a judge accepts the plea, she could face a 3-16 year prison sentence. A sentencing hearing is scheduled Aug. 30.
A third man, LaQuan Tolliver, of Chicago Heights, Illinois, was charged Jan. 8, 2021. A fourth man was implicated, but no public charges are available for him, court records show.
While prosecutors implicated Hinton, defense lawyer Patrick Young openly questioned Garcia’s credibility, saying she lied to police initially and had a reason to fit her testimony to shape the prosecution’s narrative, because she cut a deal that significantly lowered her potential prison time.
Deputy Prosecuting Attorney Christopher Bruno said several bits of Garcia’s testimony was corroborated by a 911 call another woman made, various Ring videos and Facebook data.
There was no reason she had to make up a story involving five people, he argued.
Just before the verdict, Judge Samuel Cappas ultimately ruled that he found her testimony credible, noting she and Barron had an abusive relationship — that he broke her jaw over her relationship with Baylock and dragged her by the hair in the past.
Garcia and her boyfriend had been together for 4-5 years and had two children together, but she had been recently interested in Baylock, eventually admitting to police they were “thirsty” to talk and be with one another, she said in court documents. Barron and friends had talked about killing him multiple times in the past, court records show.
On July 1, 2021, armed with a gun, Barron allegedly ordered her to lure Baylock out and take him to a picked out spot in Gary from Lynwood or she would “die in that car with him,” charges allege.
When they arrived in Gary, Steven Rice had been shot and killed near 15th and Cleveland Avenue hours earlier, which police were investigating as an unrelated incident, charges allege.
After moving to a new location, Barron and Hinton walked up and shot Baylock, documents state. They pulled Garcia into their car during the shooting, charges allege. Baylock tried to run and was dropping cash during the shooting, records state. The men hadn’t planned to rob him, but took the money and split it between themselves, documents show.
They took off on the interstate back to Illinois.
The men were “laughing” about the murder on the way back and Garcia told police she pretended not to care because she was scared for her life, documents said.
Baylock was shot multiple times around 6:40 p.m., charges show. He was pronounced dead around 7:11 p.m. at Methodist Hospitals Northlake in Gary.
Police found several spent shell casings, torn money and a black and red gym shoe near the scene. They also found a prepaid black ATM card with another name they traced back to Garcia, the affidavit stated.
mcolias@post-trib.com
