In the late hours of a Wednesday in Las Vegas, a gathering among acquaintances would ultimately prove fatal for 18-year-old Lorenzo Hardison, a Black male. On February 15, 2017, what began as a social event at an apartment on Silver Dollar Avenue took a dark turn. Hardison became embroiled in a physical altercation with another man over a woman. After the fight, which ended with a handshake, Hardison made a fateful phone call to a woman he referred to as his "Auntie," 25-year-old Ericka Winn.
He asked her to bring him his gun.
Winn arrived at the apartment, not with the intention of de-escalating the situation, but reportedly agitated that Hardison had not won the fight. An argument erupted between Winn and Hardison, escalating to the point where Winn was seen punching him. Hardison, wanting to take their dispute outside, began to walk down the stairs from the second-floor apartment. It was at this moment that Winn was reportedly seen loading the gun. Witnesses heard her utter the chilling words, "I will kill you," before she fired a single shot from the top of the stairs.
The bullet struck Lorenzo Hardison in the right eye. In the immediate aftermath, Ericka Winn and her girlfriend, Mailyn Lampley, who was also present, were seen stepping over Hardison's bleeding body as he lay at the bottom of the stairs. The two women then fled the scene in Lampley's vehicle. Hardison was rushed to University Medical Center, but his injury was too severe. He succumbed to the gunshot wound and died the following afternoon.
In the days that followed, the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department identified Ericka Winn as the primary suspect in the killing of Lorenzo Hardison. On Saturday, February 18, 2017, Winn turned herself in to the authorities. She was subsequently arrested and faced legal proceedings for her role in the tragic death of the young man.
