For more than a decade, Tamara Latrice Tucker attended nearly every hearing involving the three men charged in the murder of her fiancé, Chicago Police Officer Clifton Lewis.
At a sentencing hearing for one of them, Tucker testified that Lewis had proposed to her on a Christmas morning after a yearslong courtship. Four days later, he was gunned down in a robbery at a convenience store where he worked security.
As guests began arriving at Tucker’s wake at a Lawndale funeral home, Tucker’s son Keyonta Thomas saw a news report about the case. "She was a very factual person," Thomas said. "If it was the case that there was proof these guys didn’t do it, she was going to go by evidence and hard facts."The tragedy had moved her to return to school so she could become a juvenile probation officer. In March, even as she underwent chemotherapy, Tucker had led a group of juvenile defendants on a tour of Black colleges across the South, Thomas said.
"She was very conscious of that, especially after what happened with Cliff," Tucker said. "It just pushed her to help more. She always believed in second chances." Grainy surveillance video played at Colon’s and Villa’s trials captured a chilling, violent scene. Two gunmen entered the store and quickly opened fire on Lewis. The officer managed to return fire and duck behind a counter for cover, but one of the gunmen, allegedly Clay, hurdled over the counter, shot Lewis three times and took his gun.
They dated for more than 10 years. Lewis became a father figure to Thomas, who was 8 years old when the couple first got together. On Dec. 21, 2011, the family moved into new house that Lewis and Tucker bought, a few blocks from M & M Quick Foods.
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