A 4-year-old boy died after drowning in an apartment pool in Tennessee when a 9-year-old opened the gate with minimal resistance, according to legal documents filed by his mother. The tragedy unfolded on August 16 at The Reserve at Mountain Pass, where the child was staying with his uncle, Deshundre Vinson, a former contestant on America’s Got Talent. Vinson had been invited by a tenant and was responsible for supervising the children that day.
Text messages later obtained by police revealed a failure to monitor the children adequately and a delayed response after the drowning, according to an arrest affidavit reviewed by a local ABC affiliate. The apartment complex’s rules explicitly barred children under 14 from using the pool without adult supervision.
The lawsuit argues that the pool gate was dangerously insecure, with faulty hardware that allowed young children to bypass it without adult intervention. Surveillance footage captured the victim, Sy’mir Draco Vinson, struggling in the water for about two minutes before going underwater. Draco remained underwater for about seven minutes before someone noticed him and pulled him out of the pool. “It was too late,” the complaint states. Draco was rushed by ambulance to a local hospital, where he spent several days in the intensive care unit before dying on August 20 “as a result of his drowning injuries,” according to his mom.
The pool’s depth also played a critical role in the drowning. The lawsuit states that the actual maximum depth surpassed the 3-foot, 6-inch limit displayed on warning signs. At approximately 3 feet, 8 inches tall, Draco was unable to stand in water that reached above his head, leading to his fatal submersion.
The complaint cites Tennessee’s pool-safety laws, which mandate barriers, self-closing and self-latching gates, and certified lifeguards. It claims the apartment complex violated these requirements, increasing the risk of unsupervised access—especially since the pool was located near a playground. The lawsuit argues that installing a secure gate and hiring a lifeguard would have been a low-cost preventive measure compared to the potential consequences.
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Vinson, who rose to prominence as a member of the R&B group Citi Limitz, now faces one count of first-degree murder and two counts of aggravated child abuse. His legal team has described the drowning as unintentional, emphasizing that the family views it as a devastating tragedy.
The lawsuit also targets LDG The Reserve at Mountain Pass and LDG Development, alleging negligence in maintaining a safe pool enclosure and failing to enforce proper supervision. The legal action suggests that the complex’s oversight fell short of industry standards, contributing to the child’s death.
Legal Charges and Civil Lawsuit Details
A civil lawsuit filed by Draco’s mother names The Reserve at Mountain Pass, LDG The Reserve at Mountain Pass, and LDG Development as defendants. The complaint argues the apartment complex failed to meet state-mandated pool-safety standards, including inadequate gate security and insufficient supervision. It asserts these oversights directly enabled the child’s access to the pool and his subsequent drowning.
Surveillance footage included in the arrest affidavit shows the child moving from shallow water toward deeper areas while gripping the pool edge before slipping underwater. He died four days later from the injuries sustained.
