On the last day of his life, Jonathan Mauk got into a fender bender in the parking lot of the Walmart in Highland, an accident that would otherwise be of little consequence.
Instead, it ended with his death, a homicide that has police and family members searching for a motive to what appears to be a senseless killing.
The 59-year-old father of three and car enthusiast visited the Walmart on Feb. 5 to buy ingredients to make beef jerky, using a dehydrator that he received from one of his sons.
He pulled up to the discount retailer around 8 p.m. in his 1998 Chevrolet Camaro Supersport, but before he entered the store, he reversed into a red Toyota Camry, according to the San Bernardino Police Department.
Mauk got out of the car and tried to apologize to the woman he hit, who also got out of her car.
The woman was “upset,” police said.
“He felt responsible and started apologizing, and the other driver turned around and shot him in the face,” said Matthew Mauk, one of the victim’s three sons, who has spoken with detectives on the case.
She fired a single shot from a 9-millimeter gun, got back in her car and drove off, according to police. Mauk died at the scene.
Responding police officers spoke with witnesses and gathered video surveillance that helped them identify Shawntece Norton, 37, as the suspect in the shooting.
The next day, less than 12 hours later, police arrested Norton, a former L.A. resident living in San Bernardino on the 26000 block of Base Line Street, according to police. She was charged with murder with a firearm enhancement and is being held without bail, according to jail records.
Police executed a search warrant on her apartment and found an unregistered 9-millimeter firearm. Ballistics testing confirmed the firearm was used in the shooting at the Walmart, police said.
“It’s a horrible situation. We believe this to be an isolated incident. Our heart breaks for the family but we’re grateful for the response of our officers and investigators,” San Bernardino Police Department Capt. Nelson Carrington said in an interview.
Carrington said the department was flummoxed by the shooting and could not provide motive for why Norton, who is a mother, might have committed the crime. Police could only find a criminal record of a petty theft conviction against her in 2013.
Mauk’s killing over a minor crash left his family reeling and searching for answers.
“It’s heartbreaking watching my entire family completely fall apart,” said Matthew. “All of our lives were changed in an instant forever, nothing will ever be the same. My dad was heavily involved in our lives in every aspect. Not having him there is beyond words.”
For now there are few answers. Norton pleaded not guilty to the murder charge and denied the firearm enhancement. She is due back in court for a hearing Thursday.
In 2020, Norton filed a lawsuit against Harbor-UCLA Medical Center for malpractice. The lawsuit is handwritten and consists of only eight written words.
“Schizophrenia put on record. Problems breathing & sleeping & eating,” she scrawled in the legal document.
She did not specify what services the hospital had provided her. The suit was dismissed.
Norton also had applied numerous times for licenses as a security guard, according to public records, most recently in 2020, though all her licenses were either expired or suspended, according to California’s Bureau of Security & Investigative Services.
She also had a permit for a baton, a self-defense weapon, that was suspended, though the bureau did not explain why.
Norton’s son denied that his mother shot Mauk, but declined to answer questions about his mother’s history.
“She did not shoot him. She is gun-free,” Kevin Norton said in an interview. “She’s just the best mom and she did her best and she been trying.”
Matthew Mauk hopes Norton will face justice for the killing.
“I just think it’s important to know that what transpired is unacceptable. I expect justice to be served,” he said.
This story originally appeared on LA Times
