In the autumn of 2018, the life of 14-year-old Nasir Ali Smith, a Black/African American male, was tragically cut short in Columbia, Missouri. On the morning of November 6, Nasir was at The Links apartment complex in the eastern part of the city, where he was fatally shot. Another individual was also wounded during the incident. Friends and family remembered Nasir as a bright and fearless young man with a radiant smile who had attended Hickman High School and was being home-schooled at the time
of his death. He was an active participant in the Columbia Raiders CYFO football team and cherished spending time with his loved ones.
The police investigation into Nasir's death revealed that he was present during a drug transaction with two men, Alex J. Glay and Erick Libimbi. Court documents indicated that the situation escalated when an individual with Nasir attempted to rob Glay and Libimbi. In the ensuing altercation, Libimbi fired a gun, with one of the shots fatally striking Nasir. The investigation led to the arrest of both Glay and Libimbi, who were initially charged with second-degree murder and drug distribution.
The legal proceedings that followed saw both Alex J. Glay and Erick Libimbi enter guilty pleas to lesser charges. In May 2020, Erick Libimbi pleaded guilty to second-degree murder and received a 10-year prison sentence. The following month, in June 2020, Alex J. Glay pleaded guilty to drug distribution and was also sentenced to 10 years in prison. These sentences brought the legal cases connected to Nasir's untimely death to a close.
