Twayne Allen

Do you know who murdered T Wayne Allen?
On a warm Sunday evening in Las Vegas, the 15th of September 2019, Twayne Allen Jr. had just arrived at an apartment complex in the central part of the city. It was around 10 p.m. in the 5000 block of South Lindell Road, a residential area nestled between the bustling Tropicana and Hacienda avenues. What happened next shattered the calm of the evening and left a family grappling with a loss that endures to this day. As the 31-year-old man stepped into the complex, he was met with gunfire. The sudden violence of the act was followed by the sight of two men fleeing the scene, disappearing into the night.

Paramedics rushed to the scene and transported Twayne to the University Medical Center, but the multiple gunshot wounds he sustained were too severe. He was pronounced dead, leaving behind a life that was remembered with love and affection by those who knew him. Twayne, known to some by his nicknames "2 Junior," "June June," or "Coolie," was more than just a victim of a violent crime. He was a father to two biological children and a loving figure to four stepchildren. Friends and family described him as an exceptionally kind man, one of the best fathers they had known, and a loyal friend. His presence, they said, made the world a better place.

In the days that followed, the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department's Homicide Section began their investigation into Twayne's death. Detectives worked the scene, gathering evidence and seeking witnesses who might have seen or heard something that could lead to the capture of the two men who had fled. The police urged anyone with information to come forward, providing contact numbers for both their homicide section and the anonymous Crime Stoppers hotline. However, as of a few days after the shooting, no arrests had been made, and the case remained shrouded in mystery. That year, Las Vegas had seen a significant decrease in homicides compared to the previous year, a statistic that offered little comfort to a family that now found itself part of that grim tally.

As time stretched on, the silence in Twayne's case grew louder for his grieving family. Two years after his death, the investigation was still ongoing, but no suspects had been publicly identified. The pain of their loss was compounded by the lack of answers. Twayne's mother, Angela Cooke, and his fiancée, Ebony Jones, spoke of the enduring void his absence had created. For them, he wasn't just another statistic; he was a beloved son, a devoted partner, and a talented local entertainer known as "T-craz3," who had been a prominent rapper in the Las Vegas music scene.

Driven by a mother's love and a quest for justice, Angela Cooke found a creative way to keep her son's memory alive and actively seek leads in his case. She designed a line of shoes in his honor, bearing his stage name, "T-craz3." The proceeds from the shoe line were dedicated to a reward fund for any information that would lead to an arrest in his murder. This act of a grieving mother transformed her pain into a proactive effort to find those responsible for her son's death. The case of Twayne Allen Jr. remains open, a painful reminder of a life cut short and a family's unwavering hope for a resolution that has yet to come.