In what was supposed to be a new beginning, 31-year-old Branden Hughes, a Black/African American male, had recently moved to Las Vegas from Detroit, seeking a fresh start. He was living with his mother, Felicia Wimberly-Hughes, a 46-year-old nurse, in a quiet neighborhood. Tragically, their hopes for a better future were violently extinguished on the morning of March 31, 2016.
The day took a fatal turn when Branden and his mother heard a loud argument coming from their neighbor's house.
Concerned, they went over to check on the situation. There, they encountered their neighbor's son, 31-year-old James Craig Simpson, who was behaving erratically. In a sudden and senseless act of violence, Simpson shot Branden in front of his mother.
As Felicia, a trained nurse, rushed back into her home to get towels to try and save her son, Simpson followed her. He then brutally shot and killed her before she could render any aid. The tragedy didn't end there. Simpson then engaged in a gun battle with Las Vegas police who had responded to the scene. During the shootout, a police K-9 named Nicky was also killed.
Simpson was eventually shot by police and taken into custody. He survived his injuries, which reportedly left him paralyzed, and was subsequently charged with two counts of murder. The devastating event left Branden's four children and Felicia's other children to grapple with the sudden and violent loss of their loved ones. Family members remembered Branden as a gifted drummer who often performed at churches in his native Detroit, and a joker who was deeply loved.
