the only reason lonzo dies is because Denzel made them change the ending so the bad guy gets punished due to influence from the NAACP
the original story and more true to life was that he would get away with it and keep on rolling.
I remember Denzel saying he hated the character as a person lol. I know he was equally as disgusted with Frank Lucas, from him telling him that he wouldn’t go out of his way to make him look good.