Shawntece Marie Norton shot and killed Jonathan Mauk at a Walmart parking lot in Highland, California. (Mug shot: San Bernardino Sheriff’s Office by way of KTLA; image of Mauk: GoFundMe campaign by his family)
A driver allegedly shot an apologetic grandfather in the face over a minor fender bender in the city of Highland, California, which is east of San Bernardino. Family and co-workers remembered the victim, Jonathan Mauk, 59, as an “amazing man,” a fan of classic cars who used his lifelong passion and knowledge at his job for Carey’s Fine Automobiles.
“On Monday, February 5th just before 8PM my father was involved in a minor fender bender in the parking lot at Walmart in Highland CA,” his son, Matthew Mauk, wrote in a GoFundMe campaign for the family. “Upon getting out of the car to apologize, the other driver shot and killed my father, then fled the scene.”
Jonathan Mauk had gone to the Walmart to buy ingredients for his beef jerky recipe. He was backing up after passing a parking spot when he hit the vehicle of Shawntece Marie Norton, 37, who was backing out of another spot, police Capt. Nelson Carrington said, according to The Inland Valley Daily Bulletin.
“There was a verbal altercation, and that’s when per witness accounts, the suspect retrieved a firearm and shot the victim,” Carrington reportedly said. “It’s my understanding that the suspect is the one who did all of the yelling.”
The vehicle damage was, by all accounts, minor.
“I couldn’t imagine anybody getting that upset over something so small, so insignificant,” Matthew Mauk said, according to Los Angeles CW affiliate KTLA. “It’s so painful. I wouldn’t want anybody to go through this.”
Citing witnesses, he said his father felt responsible for the collision, he said in a KABC report.
“From what witnesses told me my dad felt responsible. He was the one to blame so he got out of the car to apologize and that is when the other person shot him,” Matthew Mauk said.
Norton was arrested Feb. 6 at an apartment complex near Highland. Cops recovered an unregistered gun, which they believe she used in the murder, Carrington said. She remains held without bail at a local jail on a murder charge.
