Police Say Boy, 15, Just ‘Snapped,’ Killed Stepfather

A 15-year-old Inglewood boy, who said he “had enough” of his stepfather terrorizing and beating his family, shot and killed the stepfather after he attacked the boy’s mother in front of the family’s home, police said.

Derrick Nims, 33, was killed about 9:50 p.m. Sunday in the front yard of the home, Inglewood Police Sgt. Harold Moret said.

Nims’ stepson, whose name was withheld because of his age, was arrested on suspicion of murder and is being held at Central Juvenile Hall in Los Angeles. The district attorney’s office will decide this week whether to file murder charges or classify the death a justifiable homicide, Moret said.

“Seeing his mother being slapped and punched and pushed up against the door made him snap,” Moret said. “That’s what he said, ‘I had enough. I couldn’t take it anymore.’ ”

The youth’s relatives said that they were sure that he was defending himself and his mother. They said Nims had created a “living hell” for his wife, Olivia, 31, the stepson and three younger children who lived in the home in the 3600 block of 112th Street.

Argument in Driveway

Police said that Derrick and Olivia Nims were seen arguing in their driveway about 9:15 p.m. Sunday, although authorities do not know what prompted the argument. Olivia ran toward the front door, where Nims caught her and slammed her repeatedly against a steel security door as the 15-year-old watched from inside, police said.

The boy allegedly grabbed a .38-caliber revolver from the couple’s bedroom and fired one shot at his stepfather through the security door. Nims released his wife and began to run, but the teen-ager chased him into the driveway and fired three or four more shots, police said.

At least one of the bullets hit Nims in the shoulder and ripped through his chest. He died before paramedics arrived.

The boy then took his stepfather’s car and drove around the neighborhood before being stopped by a sheriff’s patrol car.

Later, police said, the boy told them that he could not endure any more of Nims’ abuse.

‘Natural Living Hell’

Olivia Nims declined to comment, but her brother and sister said Derrick Nims, a janitor, had beaten his wife ever since the couple married 14 years ago.

“The whole family lived in a natural living hell for 14 years,” said Netta Singleton, Olivia Nims’ sister.

The 15-year-old was not a troublesome child, she said.

He was an average student who loved music and recently formed his own rap music group called K.G.B., taking the stage name “Plug.” The group was the star attraction in a talent show last June at Morningside High School, where the youth is scheduled to begin his sophomore year this fall.

“Our hearts bleed for him,” Singleton said. “He said he didn’t want to hurt anyone. He just wanted it to stop.”

In interviews, neighbors said they often heard screams and crying coming from the Nims home, but police said the alleged abuse had never been reported. Moret said Olivia Nims told police that she was afraid to call for help because her husband said he would kill her and the children if she did.