Bradenton man killed because suspect thought he was an informant, cops say. He wasn’t

Jason Nix was shot to death at a Bradenton apartment complex last year because the gunman and two other men thought that Nix was a law enforcement informant, according to the Manatee County Sheriff’s Office.

Except Nix wasn’t an informant, the sheriff’s office said.

Jordan Mick, 22, was charged with second-degree murder on Jan. 8.

According to the sheriff’s office, Mick and Markel Love, 28, who were arrested together a month after the shooting on charges of trafficking in fentanyl, as well as a third person, Cameron Mosley, 27, were upset that Nix owed them $2,000.

According to phone records detailed in court documents, Nix agreed to meet with Mick on the night of July 31 outside the Venue at Lockwood Apartments, 5385 30th St. E., to pay them back.

The sheriff’s office said Mick leaned into Nix’s vehicle and shot him “multiple times.” Four .40 caliber-shells were found at the scene. Detectives found the $2,000 on Nix’s body.

After the arrests of Mick and Love in August, Mosley was arrested on a charge of being a convicted felon being in possession of a firearm, according to court documents.

Investigators obtained a search warrant for Mick’s cellphone and recovered text conversations between Mick and Mosley. Minutes after the shooting of Nix, Mick texted Mosley one word: “Done,” according to the arrest report.

Mosley responded that Mick could now sleep easy, detectives said.

While Mosley and Love were in jail together on the drug charges, the pair were arguing and accusing one another of being a police informant, according to the arrest report. It was during that argument that a witness overheard Mick admitting to shooting Nix, detectives said.

Love and Mosley have not been charged in the death of Nix.

Love remains in custody on charges of trafficking, possession and intent to sell drugs. He was additionally charged with providing false information to a law enforcement officer regarding a felony in October and is awaiting trial on all charges, according to jail records.

Mosley remains in custody without bond on the weapons possession charge. His bond was additionally revoked on charges of trafficking in fentanyl and fleeing to elude law enforcement.

Prosecutors have additionally reopened a 2016 armed burglary case against Mick, according to court documents.

This story was originally published January 13, 2021 at 1:28 PM.