When 15-year-old Ronez Joyce found out someone had hurt his mom, the teenager apparently sought justice. Levonte Hyde, 30, allegedly attacked Ronez’ mother while they were driving in a car. The encounter evidently enraged Ronez, who reportedly shot Hyde after midnight on February 20, 2025. When Cincinnati Police Department officers arrived at the home in the 1600 block of Pasadena Avenue around 12:45 a.m., they came upon a grisly scene.
According to a news release, when officers arrived, they reportedly found Hyde had been shot several times. Emergency crews took him to the University of Cincinnati Medical Center for treatment. Hospital staff pronounced Hyde dead a short time later.
Fox 19 NOW reported that Hyde and Ronez’s mother, whose name was not released, allegedly got into a physical altercation in a car prior to the shooting. According to an affidavit, Hyde reportedly called the woman a vulgar name and punched her in the face several times. The unnamed woman called police, who noted in a report that she had visible facial injuries.
Per the police report, “Hyde then began to hit (the) victim in the face several times with a closed fist while driving.”
Fox 19 NOW reported that Hyde had a history of violent crimes against others dating back to 2017. Hyde and Ronez did not have a blood relationship, but Hyde and Ronez’s mother reportedly had two young children together and Hyde was reportedly the teen’s stepfather, according to the New York Post.
Following the shooting, police arrested Ronez and took him into custody. He appeared in court on February 21 on a murder charge, WLWT reported. He denied the charge.
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“He had time to find a firearm, open a safe, retrieve that firearm and waited for the victim to arrive, and ultimately ended up firing 12 shots when the victim did succumb to his injuries,” Assistant Prosecutor Tatyana Reintjes shared in court.
Although it seems probable that Ronez acted out of concern for his mother, a motive remains unclear. As Fox 19 NOW Legal Analyst Mike Allen explained, “There was obviously something going on in the young man’s head that a court could take into consideration in sentencing and probably would.”
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Ronez allegedly shot Hyde 12 times in a brutal attack. “There’s obviously a relationship between the two,” Allen said. “Obviously, not a good one, and he alleges that this individual beat his mother. And again, that’s something a judge can take into consideration in sentencing.”
Ronez remains in police custody and will appear in court again on March 3, per the Post.
