CASE OF INTEREST

December 12, 2002

Contact: Deputy District Attorney Hilary Bagley
(916) 874-5817

Re: People v. Jarmal Smith

District Attorney Jan Scully announced today that the Hon. Michael Ullman sentenced defendant Jarmal Smith to 27 years for his attempted murder convictions stemming from shooting at a mother and her 3 month-old infant. Defendant's sentence was handed down after Judge Ullman denied defendant's motion for a new trial that had been litigated for the last 18 months.

On February 18, 2000, the female victim, who was acquainted with the defendant, was driving her vehicle with her 3 month-old infant strapped into an infant safety seat in the back seat. Also in the car was the child's father. When the victim pulled over to the curb to let the child's father out of the car, the defendant unexpectedly walked over to the passenger side of the vehicle to address the victim. Words were then exchanged between the two men. As the men squared off, defendant, then 18 years old, displayed a handgun in the waistband of his pants.

Upon seeing the gun, the child's father retreated back into the front passenger seat and ordered the female victim to quickly drive off from the curb. At a distance of approximately 3 feet from the rear windshield, the defendant then fired one .38 caliber round at an angle toward the female driver. The bullet missed the head of the infant by approximately 2 inches and then traveled through the driver headrest, missing the head of the child's mother (the driver) by 1½ inches.

The female driver quickly rushed out of the area as her infant screamed from being hit and covered by numerous pieces of the shattered rear windshield. When officers responded to the victim's home, the mother, while caring for her child, still had in her hair, pieces of the foam rubber from the penetrated headrest.

The defendant denied shooting any weapon but admitted approaching the car and seeing the sleeping infant in the back seat. The jury returned verdicts of guilty on 2 counts of attempted murder although only one shot was fired.

"Short of an actual gunshot wound, this was as close to a homicide as we see. It was chilling to learn that the defendant actually saw the sleeping baby, and still acted so as to place him in a clear "kill zone".

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