On a spring morning in the Bronx, a day that began with the promise of routine ended in a burst of shocking violence that claimed the life of Lamont Smith, a 45-year-old man from Yonkers. It was around 9 a.m. on May 21, 2014, just outside P.S. 112 on Schieffelin Avenue, when the ordinary sounds of the city were shattered by gunfire. Smith was the unsuspecting target of a brazen and calculated attack that unfolded with chilling speed.
The assailant, later identified as 43-year-old Dwayne
Reid of Larchmont, arrived in a U-Haul truck. In a shocking turn of events, Reid leaped from the vehicle and fired two shots at Smith, one of which struck him in the head. Not satisfied with the initial assault, Reid returned to the truck only to emerge again and fire more shots at Smith, who lay wounded on the ground, before speeding away from the scene. The brutal slaying, which transpired near a school, sent shockwaves through the Edenwald community.
The day before the fatal encounter, the two men had been together, with Reid helping Smith move equipment for his T-shirt business using the same U-Haul that would become a key element in the crime. This prior interaction added a layer of bewilderment for investigators and the victim's family, as the motive for the execution-style killing remained elusive. Despite a series of phone calls between the two men starting around 5 a.m. on the day of the shooting, what prompted such a violent outburst from Reid remains a mystery.
Law enforcement acted swiftly, and Dwayne Reid was arrested on the same day as the shooting at his mother's house, where the murder weapon, a. 38-caliber revolver, was also recovered. He was subsequently charged with second-degree murder and criminal possession of a weapon. Reid's journey through the justice system was a protracted one, marked by delays as he was assigned five different attorneys and at one point declared himself a 'sovereign citizen,' rejecting the court's authority. In January 2020, justice was finally delivered for Lamont Smith and his family. Dwayne Reid was convicted of second-degree murder and criminal possession of a weapon and was sentenced to 25 years to life in prison. Even at his sentencing, Reid offered condolences to the family of the man he grew up with but refused to accept any liability for his death, leaving the question of 'why' to forever haunt those who knew and loved Lamont Smith.
