Ziaire Ham has pleaded not guilty in the March deaths of Danaijha Robinson and Nhalani Hiner.
LAS VEGAS, NV — Newly released police video shows officers responding after a south Las Vegas shooting that killed 20-year-old Danaijha Robinson and 1-year-old Nhalani Hiner while they sat inside a parked car in March.
The footage adds new public detail to a case now moving through Clark County District Court. Ziaire Ham, 22, is accused of firing into the car after police said he approached it in a residential area near Dean Martin Drive and Starr Avenue. Ham has pleaded not guilty to murder and firearm charges, and prosecutors have said they will not seek the death penalty.
The shooting happened Monday, March 2, after officers stopped a gray Dodge Charger near West Starr Avenue and Dean Martin Drive for a traffic violation. Police said friends of the driver arrived in a blue 2014 Hyundai Accent and later parked about a block away near Victoria Medici Avenue and Piazza Tuscano. Nhalani’s mother asked Robinson, a family friend, to stay with the child while she and another woman went to help their friend, according to court documents. Police said the car remained parked for nearly an hour before Ham pulled into the neighborhood, waited briefly, walked toward the Hyundai and opened fire. A 911 caller told dispatchers people were hysterical after the shots, and another caller said, “Yeah, there’s girls screaming.”
Police said officers nearby heard gunfire coming from the area and found Robinson and Nhalani inside the car with gunshot wounds. Both were taken to a hospital, where they died. Body camera footage released after the shooting shows the urgent moments that followed as officers and bystanders converged on the scene. Surveillance video obtained through the court appears to show a vehicle pull up before a man approaches the victims’ car and fires. Investigators have said the vehicle used in the shooting was a stolen black Mazda SUV that had been taken earlier from Phoenix. A witness told 911 that after about five shots, the vehicle peeled out of the neighborhood.
Investigators later tied Ham to the stolen Mazda, police said. The day after the shooting, Ogden, Utah, police and the Utah Highway Patrol located Ham in northern Utah. Ogden Police Chief Jake Sube said officers first received an automated license plate reader alert about a stolen vehicle. Officers started a chase, ended it because of safety concerns, then coordinated with nearby agencies. Police later found the vehicle in Roy, Utah, and arrested Ham after he ran. Sube said Ham confessed during a follow-up interview with Ogden detectives. Las Vegas police later identified him as the suspect in the deaths of Robinson and Nhalani.
Court records and police reports describe a chain of events that began outside Nevada. Investigators said Ham told detectives he stole the Mazda in Phoenix and drove to Las Vegas after believing there was a bounty on his head. He reportedly went to his mother’s home, left after an argument and later believed people were following him. A warrant says Ham told detectives he saw a car that “did not belong there,” walked toward it and fired after a person inside would not get out. When a detective told him a child had been inside the car and had died, police said Ham became emotional and said he had killed a child. Ham’s attorney has not presented a defense at trial, and the allegations remain unproven in court.
Ham was returned to Las Vegas after his arrest in Utah and appeared in Clark County District Court in June. At an initial hearing, his attorney said he was not prepared to proceed, and the matter was delayed. Ham later entered a not guilty plea before Judge Tierra Jones and waived his right to a speedy trial. A grand jury indicted him on 11 counts, including two counts of murder with a deadly weapon and nine counts of discharging a firearm into an occupied vehicle. Prosecutors said during the court process that they would not pursue a death sentence. A status check to set a trial date was scheduled for later in June.
The case has drawn attention because Robinson and Nhalani were not the original focus of the nearby traffic stop. Police said they were waiting in the parked Hyundai while others dealt with officers about a block away. Neighbors described hearing a sudden burst of gunfire in an area where police lights already were visible from the earlier stop. One caller said the sound was different from fireworks and described it as rapid gunfire. Another caller told dispatchers they had seen part of what they believed was a shooting. The video releases have added to the public record, but police have not said Robinson or Nhalani had any connection to Ham before the shooting.
Ham remains in the court process in Clark County as the case moves toward trial scheduling. The next major step is the status check on setting a trial date, when attorneys are expected to address how the murder and firearm charges will proceed.
Author note: Last updated June 18, 2026.