Troy Nichols Jr. was a 28-year-old White man from Riviera Beach, Florida, who had moved to the area with his girlfriend, Laiken Smerdon, seven years earlier. The couple had recently welcomed a baby boy, Jay'Veon Israel Nichols, who was seven months old at the time of his father's death. Smerdon described her boyfriend as an amazing person who loved his family. "He's a good son, a good brother. He loves to fish.
He's a great person," she said.
On the evening of Valentine's Day, February 14, 2023, Nichols left home to hang out with a friend at the Seaside Bar and Grill, located in the Sands Hotel on Singer Island. While inside the bar, Nichols approached a woman and asked what she was drinking. This angered the woman's boyfriend, 43-year-old Lawrence Antonio Mitchell of Palm Beach Gardens. Witnesses said Mitchell "had an issue" with Nichols, and an argument began inside the bar.
The confrontation between the two men spilled out into the parking lot shortly before 11 p.m. One witness tried unsuccessfully to calm them down. Mitchell's girlfriend later told police she saw the two men shake hands outside before the situation escalated again. Another witness heard Nichols yell an obscenity and say, "I am leaving." Mitchell then pulled a semi-automatic handgun from his waistband, cocked it, advanced toward Nichols, and fired. Nichols was struck by a gunshot to the head and died at the scene. Police later found an empty .45-caliber cartridge casing in the parking lot.
Riviera Beach police responded to the shooting and launched an extensive investigation. Detectives interviewed multiple witnesses who saw the argument and identified Mitchell from a photo lineup. The U.S. Marshal's Fugitive Task Force assisted local police in the search for the suspect. Based on witness statements and other evidence, police developed probable cause for an arrest.
Three days after the shooting, on February 17, 2023, Lawrence Mitchell was arrested and charged with second-degree murder with a firearm. A Palm Beach County judge ordered him held in jail without bond. As of his initial court appearance, his next hearing was scheduled for March 2023.
