On a warm summer night in Brooklyn, the life of 29-year-old Leonard Reddick was cut tragically short. In the early hours of June 21, 2017, Reddick, known affectionately as 'EJ' to his loved ones, was outside his home at the Union-Sutter Houses in Brownsville, engaged in a dice game with a few others. Reddick, a recent culinary program graduate and a passionate boxer, was shot in the chest right in front of his mother after an argument broke out.
He was quickly transported to Brookdale Hospital but succumbed to his injuries.
The investigation into the shooting swiftly identified a suspect. Police released the name and photograph of 27-year-old Tyaisha Key, who was known to Reddick. According to accounts from the trial, the dispute at the dice game escalated, prompting Key to run to her nearby home. Surveillance footage captured her returning with a handgun. As Reddick tried to run away, Key fired multiple shots, striking him once in the back. An eyewitness to the event later identified Key to the authorities as the person who shot Reddick.
Nearly three weeks after the fatal shooting, on July 10, 2017, Tyaisha Key turned herself in to the police. She was subsequently arrested and faced charges for the death of Leonard Reddick. In June of the following year, a jury found the now 28-year-old Key guilty of second-degree murder and second-degree criminal possession of a weapon. A Brooklyn Supreme Court Justice sentenced her to a term of 22 years to life in prison, a decisive end to a violent street dispute that cost a young man his life.
