In the early morning hours of September 6, 2020, a dispute in the parking lot of a Tucson, Arizona strip club escalated to fatal violence, claiming the life of 33-year-old Sean Rashad-Odell Howell. The altercation, which took place at Christie's Cabaret on South Tucson Boulevard, reportedly involved gang affiliations and began as a verbal argument between Howell, Dimitri Romero, and several other individuals.
The confrontation quickly turned physical, with gang signs allegedly being
displayed before a fight broke out between Howell and Romero. During the struggle, Romero produced a handgun and shot Howell. In the chaotic moments that followed, additional shots were fired by multiple people in the parking lot. Howell was privately transported to Banner University Medical Center South with life-threatening injuries, but the individuals who dropped him off left without speaking to authorities. He was pronounced deceased shortly after his arrival.
As police were responding to the initial reports of the shooting, Pima County Sheriff's deputies in the area heard the gunfire and spotted a vehicle speeding away from the cabaret. They attempted to stop the vehicle, but the driver, later identified as 25-year-old Dimitri Romero, refused to pull over. A pursuit ensued, ending when Romero crashed his vehicle and attempted to flee on foot. He was quickly apprehended by the pursuing deputies.
Dimitri Romero was subsequently arrested and booked into the Pima County Jail. He faced charges of first-degree murder and being a prohibited possessor of a firearm. Investigators with the Tucson Police Department determined that the fatal shooting was gang-related. In a later development, the Tucson Police Department revealed in January 2021 that their investigation into a separate 2019 homicide had identified Sean Rashad-Odell Howell as the primary suspect in the shooting death of Ryan Hercher. Evidence, including latent palm prints from the 2019 crime scene, confirmed Howell's involvement in that earlier fatal altercation.
