RENO, Nev. (AP) — A California man has been sentenced to life in prison for killing a Reno woman whose 5-year-old son told police he pretended to be dead after the killer started firing nearly two dozen gunshots in their motel room.
Lamar Adams, 49, of Richmond, pleaded guilty earlier to one count of first-degree murder and one count of child endangerment, both with the use of a deadly weapon, in the 2020 killing of 42-year-old Lynette Lozano.
Both counts included deadly weapon enhancements extending the sentence.
Washoe District Judge Barry Breslow said Adams will have to serve nearly 33 years in prison before he's eligible for parole.
Police said Adams had been living with Lozano before he fired 23 shots in the small motel room near the Reno airport where she was staying with her two young children.
Assistant District Attorney Zach Young said the egregious facts in the case included a 7-year-old suffering a small burn on his back when he was struck by an ejected cartridge case.
The 5-year-old told detectives that he “laid there and pretended to be dead so he wouldn't do nothing to me,” the DA's office said in a statement Wednesday.
