A Florida rapper charged with second-degree murder is asking a judge to dismiss her case under the state’s Stand Your Ground law, arguing that she fatally shot a man in self-defense during an October 2023 street altercation.

Kevhani Camilla Hicks, 29, who performs under the stage name Key Vhani, faces the charge in connection with the death of Omar Demitrie Harris in Miami’s Wynwood neighborhood. Hicks, who founded Pretty Thug Music LLC, does not dispute shooting Harris, but her defense attorneys argue she fired only after Harris assaulted her and threatened her life.

Prosecutors strongly dispute the self-defense claim. In an Aug. 21 court filing, the state argued that Hicks pursued Harris as he ran, continuing to fire while he lay on the ground trying to crawl away.

According to court documents, the dispute began after Hicks went out with her manager, Nathan Smith, to hand out promotional music materials. Smith brought along Harris, an acquaintance Hicks had not met prior to that evening. The group stopped at Red Rooster in Miami before traveling to Wynwood.During the outing, tension grew between Hicks and Harris. Miami homicide detective Amado Ventura testified in an April deposition that both Hicks and Smith stated Harris made sexually inappropriate remarks throughout the evening, which the detective characterized as bragging rather than direct propositions.

The situation escalated when Hicks asked Smith to open his car trunk so she could get her purse and leave. Prosecutors state that Hicks pushed Smith, prompting Harris to intervene, leading to Smith and Harris pinning Hicks to the ground while she kicked at them. Hicks maintains the two men assaulted, slammed, and restrained her.

Surveillance video reviewed by investigators showed Harris dragging Hicks onto the sidewalk and shoving her back down when she tried to stand, Ventura testified. The detective noted that Harris held Hicks by the cuff of her pants while shouting in her face, while Smith attempted to pull Harris off her. Ventura estimated Hicks weighed under 110 pounds at the time, while Harris weighed between 215 and 220 pounds.

After Hicks broke free, Harris briefly followed her while shouting, according to the deposition. Hicks told police Harris warned her, “Keep talking that s—, I’ll kill you with one shot.” Ventura testified that while audio from a separate Crime Stoppers recording did not pick up the death threat, it did capture Harris saying, “Keep talking that s—.”

Hicks told police she believed Harris was still directly behind her when she grabbed a handgun from her purse, turned around, and opened fire. Prosecutors, however, cite surveillance video showing Harris had already turned away and was walking toward Smith’s vehicle when the shooting started.

“After taking about ten steps up the sidewalk, the Defendant reached down into her purse, pulled out her gun, turned around, and started shooting at the victim,” prosecutors wrote in the filing. “The victim immediately ran away.”

The state further alleged that Harris tripped and tried to crawl away before Hicks approached him. “Seizing on this helplessness, the Defendant stepped into a position where she had the clearest shot, fired several more times, then turned to flee,” the filing states.

Ventura testified that higher-quality footage from Wynwood Walls confirmed Harris turned away before the gunfire began, prompting her arrest after police had initially let her leave the scene. While Ventura noted Hicks gave two consistent recorded statements and did not seem intentionally dishonest, the footage contradicted her claim about Harris’s position.

Investigators collected a Taurus 9mm handgun, two projectiles, and 10 spent 9mm casings at the scene. Harris was unarmed. Miami-Dade medical examiner Dr. Katherine Kenerson testified in a July deposition that Harris suffered three gunshot wounds, including two fatal shots that entered through his back and struck his lungs. A third non-fatal bullet struck his leg, which Kenerson said may have been a ricochet from the ground and the final shot fired.

Moments after the shooting, Hicks was struck by Smith’s vehicle. Smith told investigators he accidentally hit Hicks while attempting to maneuver his car between her and Harris. Hicks suffered broken ribs, road rash, and blunt-force trauma, though medical staff could not determine whether the broken ribs occurred during the vehicle strike or the earlier physical fight.

Hicks filed the motion seeking immunity under Florida’s Stand Your Ground statute in July. Her hearing is scheduled for Sept. 16 at 10 a.m. in Miami-Dade County court.