Road rage murder or self-defense in a parking lot? Jurors rule after competing stories.

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Road rage ******* or self-defense in a parking lot? Jurors rule after competing stories.

Tiffany Jackson contends that when she ******* a stranger in the parking lot of a CVS in Southeast Raleigh, she feared for her life.

On the afternoon of March 26, 2022, a stranger driving a blue Toyota Camry rammed Jackson’s car multiple times in the parking lot of a shopping center off Battle Bridge Road, said Jackson’s attorney, Jonathan Trapp. After being hit, Jackson pressed on the gas, but the car wouldn’t go. She went to exit the vehicle, and the door wouldn’t open The windows rolled down.

“This is like a scary movie, where everything you’re trying to do to escape goes wrong,” Trapp said.

But a prosecutor argued that Jackson’s actions weren’t those of someone cowering in *****, but rather someone who was ****** enough to ****** a **** into a stranger’s back car window. The bullet pierced the driver’s side headrest and hit 53-year-old

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a mother of three who was blaring gospel music in her car.

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“It’s simply not self-defense when someone stops their car, gets out of it, raises a firearm at another car and shoots into that car,” said Assistant District Attorney Stacy Newton.

A Wake County jury agreed on Friday afternoon. Jurors found Jackson, 38, guilty of first-degree ******* after deliberating for about an hour.

Superior Court Judge Graham Shirley then sentenced Jackson to life in prison, the mandatory sentence for ******* in North Carolina.

The verdict follows three days of testimony in which law enforcement officials, multiple witnesses and even Jackson herself outlined their version of how two strangers crossing paths at a shopping center in the middle of a sunny day resulted in one of them being shot in the head and the other in handcuffs.

What the defense argued

Jackson’s burgundy Acura TL had been hit multiple times in the parking lot by the Camry, Trapp said.

A year before that encounter, Jackson’s cousin had been shot and ******* in his car, and his fiance had also been murdered, Trapp said. Jackson bought a **** following that, as her family received threats.

The ********* took place in Southeast Raleigh, which has a high ****** rate, Trapp said, in a time when murders were frequent and people generally were living with angst. Jackson heard a loud pop and thought it was a gunshot, her attorney said.

“It created ***** and trepidation in Ms. Jackson,” Trapp said. “She thought that she was going to be the next victim, like her cousin.”

What the prosecution said

Newton pointed to the multiple witnesses, who didn’t know either party before the *********. Their testimony contradicted Jackson’s.

One man described seeing Jackson’s burgundy Acura hit the blue Camry, Newton said. The man looked down at his phone, heard a loud pop, and then saw Jackson standing outside her car pointing a **** at the Camry, Newton said.

A second witness said she had picked up a prescription through the CVS drive-through, heard a gunshot and saw Jackson standing outside her Acura and pointing something at the Blue Camry.

Two others said they saw Jackson pacing by the CVS, and they asked her what was wrong.

“I think I may have ******* someone,” the women testified that Jackson told them, Newton said. “She cut me off and my **** went off,” the witnesses said Jackson said.

What the family and judge said

After the verdict, both Jackson and Thomas’ family folded over crying.

Jasmine Knight, one of Thomas’ daughters, said she could never forgive Jackson.

“You have shattered my heart to pieces. The glue to my family is now sleeping peacefully due to your senseless acts of rage,” Knight said.

Jackson said she never meant to hurt Thomas, and she hopes that one day the Thomas’ family will forgive her.

Judge Shirley, who pointed out that Jackson’s husband was on disability and she was the sole family provider, recommended that Jackson be considered for work release. He said he has never made such a recommendation in a ******* case.

“I don’t believe you are an evil person. You just made a mistake,” Shirley said. “A big mistake.”

Virginia Bridges covers ********* justice in the Triangle and across North Carolina for The News & Observer. Her work is produced with financial support from the nonprofit The Just Trust. The N&O maintains full editorial control of its journalism.

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