Jermaine Henry Preston Smith, a 52-year-old man who found joy in the simple pleasures of life, was a beloved husband, father, and grandfather from Wayne, Ohio. Born in Toledo on November 2, 1973, he was remembered by loved ones for his appreciation for the meaningful moments. Jermaine treasured the time he spent with his children and family. He had a passion for fishing, a love for tending to his plants and watching them grow, and was an avid fan of the Green Bay Packers.
In 2013, he married his wife, Roberta "Berta" K. Hogan, with whom he shared nearly 13 years of his life. He was a father to five children—Jasmine, Justice, Jermaine Jr., Jayda, and Jaquan—and a grandfather to two.
On the night of Sunday, October 4, 2026, Jermaine’s life was cut short in an act of violence. At around 10:30 p.m., Toledo Police were called to the Weiler Homes, a housing development in East Toledo, after reports of a person shot. Officers arrived at the 800 block of Boles Drive, near Wofford Avenue, and found Jermaine suffering from at least one gunshot wound to the torso. He was immediately transported to a local hospital, but he succumbed to his injuries and was pronounced dead.
The Toledo Police Department launched an investigation into the city's latest homicide. Detectives utilized surveillance video from the area and spoke with witnesses who helped them quickly identify a suspect. The day after the shooting, on October 5, 2026, police arrested 18-year-old Delijah Ploof. He was charged with murder and felonious assault in connection with Jermaine Smith's death.
The case moved swiftly to the courts. On October 14, 2026, a Lucas County grand jury indicted Delijah Ploof on a series of charges related to the fatal shooting. The indictment included two counts of murder, one count of felonious assault, one count of tampering with evidence, and multiple weapons offenses, including a specification for discharging a firearm on or near prohibited premises. During a court appearance, Ploof's bond was set at $2.1 million.
The shooting brought renewed grief and calls for an end to violence in the community. For Jermaine's family, the tragedy was compounded by a painful history; his cousin, Greg Jackson, revealed that the family had lost another relative, 17-year-old Zayona Jackson, to gun violence at the same housing complex just three months earlier, in July. "We are all hurting. The whole community is hurting," Jackson said. "It’s death after death after death after death after death after death." He pleaded with young people to find other ways to resolve conflict, saying, "Bullets don’t have eyes. They don’t have brains. You do. You have a brain. Use it for the best."
In the wake of the shooting, community leaders also spoke out. Raymond Campos, a commissioner with the violence intervention group Save Our Community, emphasized the need to build trust and support within the Weiler Homes community to address the root causes of violence. Lucas Metropolitan Housing scheduled a community meeting to navigate the barriers residents were facing. Friends of Jermaine Smith were received on October 13, 2026, at Barndt Funeral Home in Wayne, with a memorial service planned for a later date.
As of October 2026, the case against Delijah Ploof was proceeding through the Lucas County court system. Anyone with further information about the shooting was asked to call or text the Crime Stoppers program at 419-255-1111. A reward of up to $5,000 was available for information, and tipsters could remain anonymous.
