A man arrested on a firearm charge last year was one of the victims of this month’s mass murder.
Chief Magistrate Joyann Ferguson-Pratt was informed of Delano “Ginger” Smith’s untimely death when his case was called today. As a result of Smith’s murder, the case will be formally closed once his death certificate is placed on the court’s file. Prosecutors alleged that Smith tossed a 9mm pistol, loaded with four rounds of ammunition, into bushes during a police pursuit through Bonaby Alley, Kemp Road in August 2020.
Smith, 34, of Brown Alley, Kemp Road, died a hero after he used himself as a human shield to protect his two-year-old daughter and girlfriend from a barrage of gunshots.
Smith, of Brown Alley, Kemp Road, was among six people who were killed in an ambush soon after they were released from police custody on April 15 after being detained for two days.
According to police, the men were at the intersection of Jerome Avenue and Chesapeake Road when four masked gunmen emerged from a white SUV and opened fire.
Also murdered were:Renardo “Crack Teeth” Bastian, Darnarrio Saunders, Maurice Pinder, Kendal Lord, and Travis Cooper.
The timing of the murders has eroded the Kemp Road community’s trust in the police.
Authorities, however, have said there is no evidence to suggest that police were involved in the murders.