A Las Vegas security guard has been sentenced to between five and 14 years in prison for the fatal shooting of a customer outside a 7-Eleven store during the early months of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Kegia Mitchell, who was working security at the time, tearfully addressed the court on Thursday after entering an Alford plea in the 2020 death of 56-year-old Thomas Martin, 8 News Now reports.
“I didn’t mean to take this man’s life. I did not,” Mitchell said in court. “I am truly sorry from the bottom of my heart.”
An Alford plea allows a defendant to maintain their innocence while acknowledging that prosecutors likely have enough evidence to secure a conviction. Mitchell did not formally plead guilty to murder but accepted responsibility under the terms of the plea agreement, according to KLAS.
The incident occurred on August 26, 2020, as Mitchell was enforcing pandemic-related capacity limits at a 7-Eleven in northeast Las Vegas. According to surveillance footage and court records, Martin attempted to bypass a line of customers waiting outside the store. When Mitchell blocked him, Martin became agitated, accusing her of allowing others to enter ahead of him.
The situation quickly escalated into a verbal argument. Martin allegedly threatened Mitchell before pushing past her and entering the store. The two briefly shoved each other before Mitchell drew a handgun and pointed it at Martin’s face.
Surveillance footage shows Mitchell escorting Martin out of the store with the firearm still aimed at his head. Outside, Martin attempted to swat the weapon away when Mitchell fired a single fatal shot.
Prosecutors said Mitchell had failed her initial firearms safety training. The weapon she used had reportedly been given to her as a Mother’s Day gift.
Mitchell was originally charged with open murder and later indicted for murder with a deadly weapon. However, under the terms of her Alford plea, the charges were reduced to involuntary manslaughter and aggravated assault.
Martin, a father and grandfather, had been looking forward to meeting his newborn granddaughter at the time of his death. “We were in the process of coming back here to let him meet the baby girl, and then the bad news hit,” his son Brandon Martin told KLAS in a 2020 interview.
On the day of Mitchell’s sentencing, Brandon Martin shared a message on Facebook: “JUSTICE FOR MY DAD(TOMMY MARTIN)…..REST IN HEAVEN DAD WE GOT HER TODAY, IT WONT TAKE THE PAIN AWAY OF LOSING YOU BUT AT LEAST SHE’S FINALLY GOING AWAY AFTER 5 YEARS…..LOVE AND MISS YOU…..HE WAS ONE HAMMAH WAS NOT AFRAID OF THAT GUN, SWATTED IT AWAY ATLEAST 5 TIMES [sic]."
During sentencing, Clark County prosecutors pointed to a separate incident just 19 days prior to the shooting in which Mitchell was captured on video dragging another customer across a parking lot. They argued she had abused her authority as a security guard.
“This wasn’t a case of someone stealing. Mr. Martin cut a line,” Chief Deputy District Attorney Christopher Hamner told the court, via the Las Vegas Review Journal. “Miss Mitchell escalated the situation. She was the one who grabbed his shirt first. She’s the one who pulled a loaded gun and held it inches from his face.”
Defense attorneys, meanwhile, argued that Mitchell had been placed under extreme pressure while enforcing pandemic protocols and that she acted out of fear and stress.
Clark County District Court Judge Tierra Jones acknowledged the complexity of the case during sentencing. “It’s not what took place inside the store that’s the biggest issue,” Judge Jones said. “It’s what took place outside the store.”
Mitchell will be eligible for parole after serving a minimum of five years behind bars.