Lexington is drawing ever nearer to it’s record number of homicides.
Lexington set a record with 30 homicides in 2019. Not to be outdone, the gang-bangers knocked off 34 people in 2020. Well, it seems like the bad guys took only 34 as a personal challenge, and slew 37 people last year. Now, with 3½ months left in the year, 2022 has seen 34 homicides as of September 9th. Last year, murder number 34 didn’t occur until Thanksgiving Day.
Steven Smith, photo by Fayette County Detention Center, and is a public record.
1 man found dead after a Lexington shooting. Suspect arrested, charged with murder
by Christopher Leach | Friday, September 9, 2022 | 7:06 AM EDT
One man is dead and another has been arrested after a shooting on Devonia Avenue Thursday, Lexington police say.
The shooting took place just before 6 p.m. on the 100 block of Devonia Avenue, which is near North Broadway. Police said they were responding to a report of a disorder with a weapon and when they arrived, they found a 57-year-old man suffering from a gunshot wound. He was declared dead on scene.
The Fayette County Coroner’s Office later identified the victim as Clarence Adams.
Police arrested Steven Smith, 32, and charged him with murder, fourth degree assault (domestic violence), two counts of wanton endangerment and possession of a handgun by a convicted felon. He is being held at the Fayette County Detention Center without a bond.
During the investigation, detectives determined that Smith and Adams lived at the same residence. The assault charge stemmed from an assault of a third party, according to police.
The killing marks the 34th homicide in Lexington this year, putting the city closer to the annual homicide record of 37, which was set in 2021.
No, of course what my best friend used to call the Lexington Herald-Liberal didn’t publish the suspect’s mugshot; I looked it up on the Fayette County Detention Center’s website, where it is a public record. Also shown was a previous mugshot, dated May 6, 2015, so Mr Smith is not exactly unfamiliar with jail.
The jail website lists the charges Mr Smith is alleged to have committed. Two separate counts of possession of weapons by a convicted felon tells you that he has been a bad, bad boy.
Let’s look at those charges:
- KRS §508.030 Assault 4th Degree is a Class A misdemeanor.
- KRS §508.060 Wanton Endangerment, First Degree, a Class D felony
- KRS §527.040 Possession of a Firearm by a Convicted Felon is a Class D felony if it is not a handgun, and a Class C felony for a handgun.
Under KRS §532.060, the sentence for a Class B felony is not less than ten (10) years nor more than twenty (20) years imprisonment, and the sentence for a Class D felony is not less than one (1) year nor more than five (5) years imprisonment. Under KRS §532.090, the sentence for a Class A misdemeanor is imprisonment for a term not to exceed twelve (12) months.
Then there’s the big charge:
- KRS §507.020, murder is a capital offense. Under KRS §532.030, the sentence for a capital offense is either:
- death
- imprisonment for life without benefit of probation or parole
- imprisonment for life without benefit of probation or parole until he has served a minimum of twenty-five (25) years of his sentence
- imprisonment for a term of not less than twenty (20) years nor more than fifty (50) years
As we have previously noted, Fayette County Commonwealth’s Attorney Lou Anna Red Corn is retiring at the end of this month, so she won’t be able to “mediate” Mr Smith into a lenient plea deal, but if her hand-picked replacement is nominated by Governor Andy Beshear (D-KY), Mr Smith might well be the grateful recipient of leniency.
Mr Smith, if he is convicted, should get out of jail the same day that his victims comes back to life.
At 34 homicides in 251 days, Lexington is on pace for 49.44 murders for 2022.