A 17-year-old gang member from Seattle faces a first-degree murder charge for shooting a 19-year-old man in January at a Kent apartment complex.
Anthony J. Smith allegedly shot Demonte Young once in the head and once in the stomach in a stairwell on Jan. 7 at the Somerset Apartments on the East Hill. Smith is scheduled to be arraigned on Monday, April 4 at the Maleng Regional Justice Center in Kent. He remains in custody at the King County jail in Kent with bail set at $1 million.
In recorded jail calls made since Smith’s arrest, Smith has made statements to known gang associates that he shot Young, a member of an opposing gang, according to charging papers. Smith has also laughed with known associates about the murder being a “score” for his gang.
Smith is a well-documented and admitted gang member, according to charging papers. Young was allegedly a member of a rival gang and visited the Kent apartment to meet with fellow gang members.
“The defendant (Smith) planned and perpetrated this murder and has laughed about it since,” Senior Deputy Prosecuting Attorney Jennifer L. Worley wrote in charging documents. “The defendant was on warrant status at the time, having been on supervised probation but not in compliance with several rules of his probation.
“The defendant has repeatedly been arrested with guns and refuses to abide by court orders. The bail requested is appropriate to ensure the safety of the community and the defendant’s appearance in court.”
Smith’s record includes felony convictions in juvenile court for unlawful possession of a firearm (August 2015 and June 2015); taking a motor vehicle (2014) and second-degree burglary (2014).
Kent Police responded on the night of Jan. 7 to numerous shots being fired and a man struck by bullets in a stairwell. Officers found five 9 mm shell casings and four .45-caliber shell casings near the apartment building.
Witnesses reported that the shots had come from a vehicle that then sped away after the shooting.
A couple of hours later that night, King County Sheriff’s Office deputies arrested Smith after they responded to a report of a vehicle possibly being stolen by several men at the Olympic View Apartments, 16704 31st Ave. S., in SeaTac. Smith reportedly tried to run over a deputy while driving a Crown Victoria before more deputies arrived and they were able to detain the men in the car.
Smith had a loaded 9 mm gun in his right front jacket pocket. The gun had 18 rounds in the magazine and one in the chamber. Police later determined the gun had been stolen.
Kent detectives used witness accounts, ballistics comparisons and cellphone records to connect Smith to the shooting of Young.
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