Squires man charged with murder for 2020 hit-and-run death of woman

Nearly four years after 73-year-old Julia “Chris” Hicks was found dead in the roadway after a hit-and-run crash Dec. 20, 2020, officials believe they have apprehended the man who hit her - and then fled the scene. 

Dustin Pippin, 29, of Squires, has been charged in Douglas County with second degree murder, leaving the scene of an accident resulting in death, tampering with physical evidence in a felony prosecution and operating a vehicle on a highway without a valid license (third or subsequent offense) in connection with the incident. The case is filed in Douglas County because the location of the crash was in that jurisdiction. 

According to the probable cause statement filed in the case by Douglas County Sheriff Chris DeGase, he responded to N Highway where he found Hicks lying in the roadway, deceased. 

“It appeared that she had been run over by a motor vehicle,” DeGase’s report says. It was determined that Hicks was killed by blunt force trauma from the crash. 

The sheriff’s department investigated the death immediately, but they didn’t have a lot of evidence to go on. There were no leads in the case for a long time, but on Oct. 9, of this year, DeGase was contacted by a person who told him that Pippin had told them he ran over the woman the night of Dec. 20, 2020. The witnesses also said that Pippin had went to someone’s house and told them he needed help after he hit her. The names of those involved are not available, as they have been redacted from court documents. 

The witness said the red Chevy S-10 truck that Pippin was driving when he hit the woman was burned and buried. The person said Pippin had furthermore threatened to kill one of the witnesses’ family, and he had left a voicemail with that threat. DeGase wrote in the report that the witness provided the voicemail, and he listened to it.

On Oct. 22, the sheriff and DCSD Cpl. Nelson and Detective Long went to a residence off Douglas County Road 422 where the witness and Pippin were residing on the date Hicks was hit. 

The witness met with the officers at around 2 a.m. with his attorney and told the officials where the truck was located. The S-10 pickup was recovered with from the property. It had been burned and covered with tree limbs to prevent its detection, the report says. 

The detective observed areas of the red S-10 pickup that had been painted primer grey in an attempt to conceal the vehicle further. 

DeGase spoke with a witness who stated Pippin showed up at a residence on the morning the woman had been run over, and there was human flesh on the underneath side of the pickup. The witness said the S-10 was parked in the garage, and Pippin had begun painting it primer grey. The witness said that Pippin said he didn’t know what he had ran over, so he went to a friend’s house on P Highway and returned to the scene where he saw police cars and then left. A witness reportedly told the sheriff that on New Year’s Eve 2020, he got drunk on tequila and pushed the truck down a hill and set it on fire. It was later moved and covered with limbs to conceal the truck. 

The witness said that Pippin had threatened to burn his and his family’s house down with them in it if anything about the hit-and-run was ever told to anyone else. 

DeGase added that Pippin’s driver’s license had been expired since 2019. 

DeGase listed 16 criminal arrests Pippin has on his record for various charges including several possession of a controlled substance charges, assault, resisting arrest, armed criminal action, domestic assault and more. He had been released from prison on May 7, 2020, and was on parole at the time the hit-and-run occurred. His probation officer reported that he was not in compliance with his probation, as he failed to make contact with Pippin on several occasions, and on Oct. 22, 2020, Pippin tested positive for methamphetamine. On Dec. 20, 2020, just 10 days after the hit-and-run, Pippin’s mother told officers he didn’t have a phone, and she had seen him a few days prior but didn’t know where he was living. On April 4, 2021, Pippin was declared an absconder and a detainer was issued for his arrest by the Department of Probation and Parole.

Pippin is charged as a prior and persistent offender due to his lengthy criminal felony convictions. If he is convicted in this case, he will face stricter punishment due to the designations.

The prosecutor asked that the court documents be sealed to the public for the safety of the confidential witnesses in the case, as Pippin had threatened to kill both of them, and specifically said he would kill one if he spoke to anyone about the hit-and-run. Associate Judge Elizabeth Bock sealed the documents until Pippin was arrested, which occurred Nov. 12. Pippin was in court Monday where attorney Christopher Hatley entered his appearance as his defense attorney. He was set for a preliminary hearing on Tuesday before Associate Judge Elizabeth Bock. Results of that hearing were not available at presstime.