A Florida teenager is behind bars, facing a life sentence after orchestrating the murder of his own father and then executing the teenage accomplice who pulled the trigger just three days later in a chilling bid to cover his tracks. Shane Payne Jr., now 17, was already serving a 30-year sentence for an unrelated kidnapping when the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office leveled two new counts of second-degree murder against him, alleging a cold and calculated plan that began with a father’s death and ended with a friend’s execution.
The gruesome timeline began on August 3, 2022, when Shane Payne Sr. , a man known in the local streets as a hustler, was shot dead while lying in his bed inside his home at the Devaston housing complex on Jacksonville’s north side. The attack occurred around 11:30 p.
m. , with several children present, including some as young as four years old. Investigators say the shooter entered the home, walked directly to the back bedroom, fired a single fatal shot, and fled in a stolen Honda.
Among those interviewed that night was Shane Payne Jr. , then just 15 years old. He told police he did not know the shooter’s identity but described a man wearing a “shy mask,” a distinctive face and head covering similar to a ski mask.
That description would later become a key piece of evidence as detectives unraveled a web of betrayal and violence that authorities say was driven by a teenager’s desire to be “put on” in the criminal underworld.
Just three days later, on August 6, 2022, the body of 16-year-old Timothy Dixon was discovered behind a dark apartment building in the Ortega Farms neighborhood. He had been shot once in the head. A single nine-millimeter shell casing lay near his body.
Dixon was a close friend of Payne Jr. , and the two had been seen together in the days leading up to the murders. Police quickly realized the casing matched one found at the scene of Shane Payne Sr.’
s murder, linking the two killings ballistically.
Phone records provided the crucial breakthrough. According to JSO, Dixon received four calls from Payne Jr. within the hour of his death, which occurred around 1:30 a.
m. Cell tower data showed Payne Jr.’ s phone moving from the north side, where his father was killed, back toward the Ortega Farms area where Dixon died.
Surveillance footage captured what investigators described as a “practice run” by the two teens less than ten minutes before the elder Payne was murdered.
The investigation revealed that Payne Jr. allegedly let Dixon into the family home to kill his father, a plan born from a dispute over money and respect. Shane Payne Sr.
was a known hustler, and his son reportedly wanted to be included in his illicit activities. When the father refused, the teenager allegedly conspired with Dixon to rob and kill him. But after the murder, Payne Jr.
realized Dixon was a loose end that could implicate him in the crime.
“It’s rare that you see something like that in a 15-year-old,” said Ken Jefferson, a First Coast News crime and safety expert. “He wanted to kill the witness. He was tying up loose ends.”
Three days after his father’s death, Payne Jr. allegedly lured Dixon to a secluded area and shot him in the head, using the same firearm that had been used in the first murder.
The case took another turn when shell casings from a third shooting on August 13, 2022, were also linked to the same weapon. In that incident, a shooter fired into a crowd on Phillip Randolph Boulevard, though no one was hit. Payne Jr.
was later identified as the shooter and pleaded guilty to carrying a concealed firearm in January 2023. That conviction, combined with a home invasion robbery and kidnapping case in December 2023, landed him in jail, where he has remained ever since.
Detectives interviewed Payne Jr. multiple times, but his alibis crumbled under scrutiny. He claimed he was getting a haircut at his cousin’s apartment the night Dixon died, but the cousin could not confirm the specific date.
Phone records showed a call to his mother just eight minutes after the gunshot was heard, and a subsequent call at 1:34 a. m. placed him near the murder scene.
A search of his home also revealed internet searches for a “shy mask” and GPS directions to his father’s residence.
In June 2024, Payne Jr. pleaded not guilty to the murder charges, with a trial set for late 2026. But the legal proceedings have already taken a toll on his family.
His grandmother has publicly expressed grief for her son, Shane Payne Sr. , while a sister-aunt wrote on social media, “Nobody believed me. People thought I was going crazy.
To hear Lil Shane made me hate everybody. I still do.”
The case has also drawn attention to Payne Jr.’ s alleged affiliation with a gang called NHG, or No Hospital Gang, founded by rappers Queso and ATK Scotty. Both founders have been convicted in separate murder cases, with Queso receiving a life sentence after his own father testified against him.
Authorities say this gang culture may have influenced Payne Jr. , who was seeking guidance and a sense of belonging at a young age.
“This teenager who you’re about to see is accused in his father’s death and the death of his accomplice,” said a JSO spokesperson during a press conference. “It’s a tragic example of how violence can escalate quickly when young people are drawn into a life of crime.” The Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office has emphasized that the investigation was painstaking, relying on forensic evidence, phone records, and surveillance footage to build a case against Payne Jr.
As of now, Payne Jr. remains incarcerated at the Duval County Jail, facing a potential life sentence if convicted on the murder charges. His 30-year sentence for the kidnapping case has already drawn criticism from some who argue it is too lenient given the severity of the allegations.
But for the families of Shane Payne Sr. and Timothy Dixon, the pain is far from over.
“I’ve been broken when my daddy died, and when Shane died, I felt like I left with him,” wrote the sister-aunt in a social media post. “People do die from a broken heart. Pray for my mama, because that’s all I got.”
The community remains in shock, grappling with the reality that a teenager could orchestrate such a brutal plan, killing his own father and then his friend in a matter of days.
The case has also sparked a broader conversation about youth violence and gang involvement in Jacksonville. Experts say the drill rap scene, which glorifies violence and retaliation, may have played a role in Payne Jr.’ s mindset.
In a rare Instagram post from jail, he wrote, “Look at my situation as a wakeup call. Don’t make the wrong steps when somebody like me already made the wrong steps for you.”
But for now, the focus remains on the victims: Shane Payne Sr., a father of multiple children, and Timothy Dixon, a 16-year-old whose life was cut short. As the legal process unfolds, the community waits for justice, knowing that the young man at the center of this tragedy will likely spend decades behind bars, a stark reminder of the consequences of a life steeped in violence and betrayal.
