Mum shot dead in street by man who felt 'disrespected' after she ignored his catcalls

A man is facing the possibility ofafter been found guilty of a random in the street following her reaction to his catcalls.

On July 27 last year 42-year-old Nikki Loffredo was walking along on Euclid Avenue when James Bernard Johnson, 43 from Iowa, first saw her. In he claimed he had planned to approach her at this point but he didn't interact with her until a short while later when he saw her again at the at the intersection of East Ovid Avenue and Cambridge Street at around 3:48am.

From his vehicle he yelled at her to “come get high” with him to which Nikki, a bartender, responded "Who are you? Never mind, f–k off," he drove by and yelled at her out the window of his SUV, according to the

Johnson said he felt disrespected by Nikki's response and admitted he fired a handgun four times from his vehicle, claiming he fired at the ground to frighten her. Sadly Nikki was struck by several of the shots fired by Johnson.

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After he opened fire Johnson sped off from the scene in his gold SUV leaving Nikki criticially injured on the floor. After being struck by the bullets Nikki was rushed to hospital in a serious condition. Johnson denied that he intended to kill her that morning.

Nikki, of West Des Moines, sadly died in hospital on July 29, 2024, as a result of her gunshot injuries. Johnson was arrested for the murder a few days later on August 2 - investigators were able to uncover text messages between him and his girlfriend where he said he "popped" someone earlier.

After detctives started investigating there was no previous connection found between the victim and defendant, according to prosecutors. According to prosecutors Johnson was high on marijuana and cocaine the day of the murder, however, it's unclear if his intoxication played any role in his decision to pull use his gun that morning. Johnson has prior convictions for drug offenses, according to prosecutors.

A Polk County jury convicted Johnson of first-degree murder on Wednesday April 9 for shooting Nikki Loffredo last summer. Jurors in his case deliberated for just hours after a weeklong trial before bringing in a guilty verdict against the 43-year-old. He is scheduled to be sentenced on June 20 and faces the possibility of life behind bars.

Loffredo's family described her as "very kind and compassionate, and was always willing to help anyone in need. She loved to spoil her nephews and take them to movies and Chuck E. Cheese," according to her obituary.