In an affidavit penned by Florence police detective Alex Wold, the circumstances of the April 19 shooting have come to light.
According to an arrest affidavit, Justin Michael Smith, 32, of Englewood has been issued a no-bond arrest warrant.
Smith faces the following charges:
- first-degree assault
- two counts of menacing
- reckless endangerment
- unlawfully carrying a concealed weapon
According to the affidavit, Wold responded to a shooting at approximately 9:52 p.m. April 19 at the Elks Lodge to assist with the investigation. Officers had previously been dispatched to the area and Wold arrived to find the purported shooter, Smith, was waiting at Pair-a-dice Liquors at 201 E. Main St.
The victim, Willian Kenneth Donald, 51, "had sustained a gunshot wound to the right leg above the knee" and already had been transported to St. Thomas More Hospital.
After speaking to Smith, Wold learned that he planned to attend a wedding reception at the Elks Lodge on April 20 and had assisted with setting up the event the day before.
The affidavit reads that Smith claimed the shooting was in self-defense and that, "the guy he shot swung a large stick at him, striking him across the back and the neck area twice. Once he was hit, he shot the guy in the knee in self-defense."
Smith said he observed several individuals with flashlights looking in and toward his vehicle, as well as vans parked at the business across the alley. The affidavit states that Smith said he went to his vehicle, where he retrieved his firearm, a Taurus semiautomatic 9 mm, and approached the individuals who had moved to a dumpster.
"Smith related that he kept telling them to keep going, get out of here," the affidavit reads. "As soon as I pulled my gun the guy reared back (gestured like drawing back something to strike at him), he then hit me across the back and neck area. I shot him in the knee."
After the shooting, Smith called 911 to self-report the shooting and remained on-scene.
Wold notes in the affidavit that, during his interview with the suspect, he observed no evidence of bruising, red marks, welts, or swelling on Smith's person from the purported walking stick.
Wold also conducted interviews with the victim, Donald, and his girlfriend, Darla Kukich, 44, later that night. Their accounting of events somewhat differed.
The affidavit reads that Donald and Kukich had decided to go to Loaf and Jug to get something to drink when they decided to check the Big Cat dumpster, "to see what they could find in there."
Donald noted in the affidavit, "Someone, a guy started to holler at us ... I yelled back for them to mind their own business."
Wold inquired if he had struck Smith with his walking stick, but Donald said he had not.
The affidavit goes on to read that Donald stated that Smith followed them across the street from Big Cat plumbing before the shooting occurred.
After the altercation, Donald stated he was helped to the liquor store by Kukich, where they called the police as neither had cell phones.
Upon interviewing Kukich, she affirmed that Donald had not struck Smith with his walking stick and that, "she became afraid he was going to shoot her too. The guy did point the gun directly at her when she went to help William."
Video footage from the Elks Lodge, Flipping Peddler Antique Store, and Antiques and Arts of Asia Store were obtained by Officer Payton Kline the next morning and, upon reviewing the footage, Wold ascertained that Smith's self-defense claim to be false and that Smith, "was the aggressor in the incident."
Though none of the three videos revealed the shooting itself, Wold noted in the Elks Lodge video that, "the body language of Donald and Kukich shows their attention is drawn to someone outside the field of the camera view ... Donald and Kukich can be seen leaving the dumpster, walking north toward Main Street in the middle of the roadway."
Smith was also noted to return to the Elks Lodge after the shooting.
The Flipping Peddler video revealed that "as they [Donald and Kukich] walk past the Elks Lodge, they are not looking at the parked cars and not stopping in front of the Elks Lodge."
The same video also revealed that Smith never gets into any of the cars parked in front of the lodge and, "is seen putting his right hand inside a pocket or pouch as though checking for something."
The affidavit states that Wold surmised the following that Smith gave officers false information surrounding the events that led to the shooting, namely:
- Smith already had a concealed firearm on his person upon leaving the Elks Lodge
- Smith's allegation that he saw Donald and Kukich looking into his vehicle and others in front of the Elks Lodge was false
- Smith had to go out of his way to approach them via video footage evidence
- Smith followed Donald and Kukich, who left the immediate area and proceeded north on South Petroleum in an attempt to get away from Smith. He followed them approximately 91 feet, taunting Donald and trying to incite a confrontation.
- Neither Wold nor Sergeant Felix Montoya found evidence of red marks, welts, bruising, or other evidence that Smith was ever hit.
Donald sustained, "serious bodily injury from the gunshot wound, a broken femur bone," the affidavit states.
At this time, Smith has not yet been arrested.
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