Woman Smoked Meth Before Opening Fire On Neighbor Over Parenting Dispute

A Loveland woman has been sentenced to more than 30 years in prison after she reportedly barged into her neighbor’s apartment and shot the victim multiple times over an alleged parenting dispute in Loveland, Colorado.

Tiera Kelley, 37, who's accused of shooting her neighbor Mystique S’ade Wadena, 28, five times outside her apartment in the 1200 block of East Sixth Street in Loveland on Aug. 30, 2020, has been sentenced to 32 years by Judge Laurie Dean of Colorado’s Eighth Judicial District, after pleading guilty to attempted murder and menacing, Law & Crime reported.

On the day of the incident, Kelley reportedly overheard Wadena “verbally mistreating her child.” About an hour later, Kelley knocked on Wadena’s door and told her that she needed to treat her son better. Following this, the duo engaged in a physical altercation inside Wadena’s apartment.

Kelley subsequently retreated to her own apartment, grabbed a .38-caliber handgun, and loaded it with bullets. Kelley then walked towards Wadena who was in the apartment complex’s foyer and allegedly opened fire on the victim five times from “approximately three feet away,” the Coloradoan reported.

When officers arrived at the scene, they found Kelley exiting her apartment with a towel and peroxide. However, Kelley later admitted that she was trying to make the police think she was only trying to help and not involved in the shooting.

Kelley reportedly told police that she had consumed alcohol and smoked methamphetamine with a neighbor before shooting Wadena.

At the court, Kelley cried and apologized for hurting her neighbor, her neighbor's family, and her own family, including her children and stated that the incident is "the worst mistake of her life."

"It kills me inside because being a mother is the most important thing to me," Kelley said. "... I have to live the rest of my life now knowing I caused significant damage to others. ... I don't want to cause harm or be in a situation where I ruin someone's life."

However, authorities said that Kelley showed no remorse for nearly murdering her neighbor at the time of her arrest.

"I am heartbroken that you are here and that a sentence to the Department of Corrections is necessary, but I cannot find that anything other than a lengthy (prison) sentence is appropriate given the facts," Judge Dean said during the sentencing hearing on Thursday, Oct. 21.