Life Sentence Secured in 2020 Murder Prosecution

WCDA OFFICE SENTENCING UPDATE

Washoe County District Attorney Chris Hicks has announced that Lamar Andre Adams, age 49, from Richmond, California, has been sentenced to life in prison for the 2020 shooting death of his girlfriend. Adams previously pled guilty in March to one count of First-Degree Murder with the Use of a Deadly Weapon and one count of Child Endangerment with the Use of a Deadly Weapon and was sentenced last Tuesday to a maximum term of life in prison with parole eligibility set by the court to begin after 32 years and 8 months has been served, which is a consecutive parole total for both charges and the two deadly weapon enhancements. The Honorable Barry Breslow presided over the case and imposed the sentence.

The case against Adams began when the Reno Police Department (RPD) responded to a report of a shooting at the La Quinta motel in Reno. Upon arrival, RPD patrol officers discovered a deceased female victim identified as Lynette Lozano, age 42, inside one of the motel rooms. They further discovered that Lozano’s small children, age 5 and 7, had been inside the motel when the shooting occurred. Adams was quickly identified as the suspect and RPD Robbery Homicide Unit (RHU) Detectives responded to begin an investigation. Based on evidence at the scene and witness interviews, Adams was ultimately located driving a stolen vehicle in the Reno area and arrested. When interviewed, Adams admitted to having shot Lozano multiple times with an AR-style pistol. The pistol was subsequently located in Sacramento, California, after Adams drove to Sacramento, hid the firearm in a field, and then returned to Reno in the stolen vehicle.

At sentencing, Assistant District Attorney Zach Young argued that the egregious facts and circumstances of the case, coupled with Adams’ history of violence, justified the lengthy sentence. ADA Young pointed out that Adams discharged his firearm 23 times in the small motel room, and then fled the area, leaving Ms. Lozano’s two young children to find her killed. A good Samaritan who was staying in the room next-door comforted the children until RPD and paramedics arrived. The evidence showed that Ms. Lozano was reading a book when she was killed, and her 7-year-old child suffered a small burn on his lower back after being struck by an ejected cartridge case during the shooting. The 5-year-old child also told detectives that he “laid there and pretended to be dead so he wouldn’t do nothing to me”.