Man Convicted In Fatal Shooting, Stabbing Of Police Officer's Son At Fort Washington Park
The 1st suspect involved in the fatal shooting, stabbing of a police officer's son has been convicted. A 2nd suspect's trial starts June 18. Kenneth Smith, 54, has been convicted of murdering 30-year-old Desmond Thomas, the son of a Prince George's County police officer, in October 2023 at Fort Washington Park. Smith and another suspect, Lamont Scott, thought Thomas and the unnamed officer had been interacting with two 14-year olds, but were instead talking to each other and getting ready to play basketball before the officer headed to work. They ambushed Thomas and an unnamed officer, shooting Thomas twice and stabbing him to death. The pair then went to Smith's home to destroy evidence. Smith will be sentenced in September and Scott's trial will start June 18.
게시됨 : 10개월 전 ~에 의해 Kristin Danley-Greiner ~에 General
FORT WASHINGTON, MD — One of two men charged in the October 2023 death of a Laurel man in a Fort Washington park has been convicted on several charges. The man who was fatally shot and stabbed was the son of a Prince George's County police officer.
Prince George's County State's Attorney Aisha Braveboy announced Tuesday that a jury had found 54-year-old Kenneth Smith guilty of first-degree murder for shooting 30-year-old Desmond Thomas to death in front of Smith's daughters, as well as guilty of first-degree attempted murder for shooting and injuring a second person who was a federal law enforcement officer at Old Fort Hills Park in the 2300 block of Old Fort Road. Officials on Tuesday said that Smith and a second suspect, Smith's stepson, 18-year-old Lamont Scott, confronted Thomas and the unnamed officer, thinking Thomas and the officer had interacted with two 14-year-olds sitting in the park, who were Smith's children. However, Thomas and the officer instead were talking to each other and getting ready to play basketball before the officer headed to work, investigators said.
However, officials said Smith and the other suspect ambushed Thomas and the officer, shooting Thomas twice and stabbing him. Then they went Smith's home to destroy evidence. "You come upon the situation, your first instinct shouldn't be to not only accuse people but to be armed and then to use those weapons against to people who you don't know," Braveboy said. "If everyone's saying, 'look, we don't know them,' then you should accept that as fact. I don't know why he decided to commit these actions that day. I don't know if we'll ever know."
"Instead of Kenneth Smith stopping and just asking his daughter what was going on and taking his daughters home, they killed two innocent men ... He's 54 years old and he's facing two life sentences," added Prince George's County Assistant State's Attorney Bill Porter. "Hopefully one day we will learn that instead of acting with guns, we will put those guns down and start talking and handling things a different way."
Smith will be sentenced in September and Scott's trial will start June 18.
“This is a painful and emotional case not only for the family, but for law enforcement community,” Braveboy added. “Mr. Thomas was the son of Prince George’s County Police Officer Donnell Thomas and to have his son become a victim of the crime and violence he spends everyday fighting is unimaginable. We are glad that we secured justice with this conviction against Kenneth Smith.”
주제: Crime