On the cold evening of January 30, 2023, the life of Timothy Chrishaod Smith, a 38-year-old Black or African American male, was tragically cut short in Minot, North Dakota. Just before midnight, police were called to a hotel in the northwest part of the city with a report of a shooting. Arriving at The Vegas Motel, officers discovered Smith unresponsive, having sustained a gunshot wound to the head.
He was quickly transported by ambulance to Trinity Hospital, but he succumbed to his injuries.
The investigation into the shooting quickly focused on 32-year-old Darrion Deshon Jackson. While police were still at the scene, Jackson himself called Minot Central Dispatch and admitted that he had shot Smith. Not long after the incident, he turned himself in to the authorities. Officers located Jackson at another nearby motel where, after being read his rights, he again stated he had shot Smith. He was arrested in the early morning hours of January 31, 2023, and charged with murder.
During questioning, Jackson, who was homeless, told investigators that a man and woman had allowed him to stay in their hotel room. He said that he knew Timothy Smith and that an altercation began after Smith came to the hotel room door and they exchanged words. According to Jackson's statement, Smith was not armed. Jackson admitted to firing the gun once before fleeing the hotel, leaving the weapon behind, its location forgotten.
The legal proceedings that followed brought a resolution to the case. In March 2024, after about four hours of deliberation, a Ward County jury found Darrion Deshon Jackson guilty of Class AA felony murder for the death of Timothy Chrishaod Smith. He was also convicted on a charge of being a felon in possession of a firearm. For the murder, Jackson was sentenced to serve 45 years of a 50-year sentence with the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation.
