In the light of a January afternoon in Augusta, Georgia, the life of James Bartell Smiley III, a 28-year-old African American male, was violently cut short on January 12, 2017. The tragic events unfolded around 2:30 p.m. in a residential neighborhood near the 1000 block of Carrie Street. Smiley was inside his Mercedes when a Black male with dreadlocks reportedly approached the vehicle and opened fire, striking Smiley multiple times in the head and neck.
In a final, desperate attempt to flee the hail of bullets, Smiley accelerated, his car careening into several parked vehicles, a mailbox, and ultimately crashing into a tree. He was pronounced dead at the scene of the chaotic aftermath.
The investigation into Smiley's murder has been a source of continuing anguish for his family, as the case remains unsolved and no arrests have been made. The Richmond County Sheriff's Office collected evidence from the scene, including two cell phones and $430 in cash. Smiley's mother, Melissa Walker, later explained that her son, an avid bowler, was carrying the cash to purchase a new bowling ball from someone in South Carolina. The family has voiced their profound frustration with the perceived lack of progress in the investigation, at times stating they felt the case had gone cold and that Smiley's personal effects had not been returned to them.
In the years following the shooting, authorities have made public appeals for anyone with information to come forward, but no significant leads have emerged to break the stalemate in the case. The identity of the man with dreadlocks who witnesses saw firing into Smiley's car remains a mystery. The community has been left to grapple with the daylight violence that claimed a young life, while a family continues their painful wait for justice and closure. A GoFundMe page was created to support his loved ones, who remember him as a loving son, father, boyfriend, friend, uncle, and nephew, and they continue to hope that those responsible for his death will one day be held accountable.
