Troy Nichols Jr. was 28 and lived in Riviera Beach, Florida, with his girlfriend Laiken Smerdon; the couple had a seven-month-old son, Jay’Veon Israel Nichols. On the evening of Valentine’s Day, February 14, 2023, Nichols went to the Seaside Bar and Grill at the Sands Hotel on Singer Island to meet a friend. Inside the bar he reportedly asked a woman what she was drinking, which provoked an argument with the woman’s boyfriend, 43-year-old Lawrence Antonio Mitchell of Palm Beach Gardens.

Witnesses say the quarrel moved into the parking lot shortly before 11 p.m. One witness tried to intervene; another recalled a brief handshake before the situation escalated. According to accounts, Mitchell produced a semi-automatic handgun, cocked it, advanced toward Nichols and fired. Nichols was struck in the head and died at the scene; officers recovered an empty .45-caliber cartridge casing in the parking lot.

Riviera Beach police identified Mitchell from a photo lineup, developed probable cause and, with assistance from the U.S. Marshal’s Fugitive Task Force, arrested him on February 17, 2023. He was charged with second-degree murder with a firearm and ordered held without bond. If anyone witnessed the confrontation or has information about Nichols that could help, please come forward.