Lashonda Nix, Promising Mother and Soon-to-Be Grandmother, Fatally Shot in Grudge Attack

Accident – Death – Obituary News : Lashonda Nix, a 40-year-old mother of four, had a bright future ahead of her. She was eagerly awaiting the arrival of her second grandchild and was on the verge of graduating from her studies in medical billing and coding. However, tragedy struck when Curtrez Darale Johnson arrived at her St. Paul home last December with a gun and a grudge.

Johnson knocked on the door of the Payne-Phalen home, where his son had been shot and injured just six days earlier. When Nix peered through a curtain of her interior porch door, Johnson opened fire, fatally shooting her in the head.

The devastating loss of Nix has left her family broken and grieving. “A person like the defendant doesn’t deserve to see the light of day,” Nix’s younger sister, Sharonda Nix, stated before Johnson was sentenced to 35 years in prison for the December 16 killing. “He is a coward.”

After five days of testimony and approximately six hours of deliberation, jurors found Johnson, a 41-year-old resident of St. Paul, guilty of second-degree intentional murder on September 11. He was also convicted of possessing a firearm after a conviction of a crime of violence. Despite denying being the shooter, Johnson showed no remorse and refused to participate in the court-ordered pre-sentence investigation.

During the sentencing hearing, Johnson’s attorney requested a 30½-year prison term, citing a pre-sentence investigation recommendation. However, Assistant Ramsey County Attorney Maureen Cleary argued that 36½ years, the maximum allowed under state sentencing guidelines, would be more appropriate. Cleary emphasized the trauma experienced by Nix’s children, who witnessed their mother’s murder and had to recount the horrifying event at the police station. Johnson’s lack of remorse and refusal to cooperate further compounded the family’s suffering.

The tragic incident unfolded when Nix’s 19-year-old son heard three loud knocks on the interior front door of their home on East Cook Avenue. Despite asking who was there, Nix received no response, and the knocking persisted. As she peered through a curtain, her son heard a gunshot and saw her collapse to the floor.

Just six days prior, on December 13, police were called to the same residence after Johnson’s 18-year-old son was shot in the face. According to a 16-year-old witness, he believed Johnson, the father of the injured teenager, had shot Nix when she looked out the window. The witness also saw Johnson get into a white truck, which he had seen the defendant drive in the past.

Cellphone data analysis revealed that Johnson was in the vicinity of the Cook Avenue residence multiple times before and during the shooting. During an interview with homicide investigators, Johnson acknowledged his knowledge of the situation, stating that the “mother of the kid who shot (his son) was ‘injured'”. He claimed he drove past the spot where his son was shot every day and, while he insisted he would not harm anyone, he implied that he would retaliate against the person responsible for his son’s injury.

The impact of Nix’s untimely death on her family is immeasurable. Sharonda Nix shared a heartbreaking account of their last interaction, revealing that she had planned to visit her sister’s house on the night she was killed. Due to the snowfall, she decided to call her sister through FaceTime video instead. They shared a joyful moment as Nix showed her newborn grandchild on the call. Little did they know it would be their final conversation.

During the court hearing, Nix’s father, Tarlyn Sanders, expressed his disbelief at how someone could shoot an innocent woman without a valid reason. He questioned the motive behind the senseless act, especially considering that the person responsible for his son’s injury was still free. Nix’s mother, Mary Nix, emphasized that Lashonda had nothing to do with the conflict between the teenagers and had only tried to help. She described the pain of watching her grandchildren struggle to be strong and navigate life without their mother.

On what would have been Lashonda’s birthday, July 3, her second grandchild, a granddaughter, was born. Sharonda Nix reflected on the time stolen from her sister, as Johnson took away the opportunity for her to witness her children grow and spoil her grandchildren. She expressed the hope that justice would be served by ensuring Johnson spends a significant amount of time behind bars.

The sentencing of Curtrez Darale Johnson to 35 years in prison brings a measure of closure to Lashonda Nix’s family, but their pain and grief will linger. The loss of a beloved mother, daughter, and sister leaves an indelible void that can never be filled. As they continue to mourn their loss, they hope that their story will serve as a reminder of the devastating consequences of senseless violence..