In the early morning hours of November 22, 2024, a tragic and unforeseen act of violence shattered the peace of a Suwanee, Georgia, neighborhood, claiming the life of 45-year-old Nicole Winds Clemons. A Colorado native who had relocated to the Atlanta suburb with her mother a few years prior, Clemons was inside her Baxley Village Trail home with her family, including her 8-month-old grandchild, when the residence was targeted in a drive-by shooting at approximately 2:30 a.m. She was the only person struck by the gunfire. Emergency services transported her to Northside Hospital Gwinnett, but she ultimately succumbed to her injuries.
The investigation by the Suwanee Police Department, with assistance from the Duluth and Lawrenceville Police Departments, quickly revealed that Clemons was not the intended victim. Authorities believe the actual target was her son, with whom the alleged shooter had been involved in an argument. This revelation cast a further pall of tragedy over the senseless killing, highlighting the devastating consequences of a dispute that spiraled out of control. Clemons was remembered by her husband, Edrick Clemons, as a woman with an adventurous soul who deeply loved her family and her hometown Denver Broncos.
In the immediate aftermath of the shooting, police apprehended a suspect near the scene. Christian Marcus Ware Lessington, a 23-year-old who resided in the same neighborhood, was taken into custody. His attempt to flee was thwarted when he crashed his vehicle, blowing a tire. Lessington was initially charged with three counts of aggravated assault. However, as the investigation progressed, the charges were upgraded to include felony murder, criminal damage to property, possession of a firearm during the commission of a felony, and a drug-related charge. The incident marked the first homicide in the city of Suwanee in two years, leaving a community in shock and a family to grapple with an immeasurable loss.
