In the early morning hours of May 15, 2023, the quiet of a Lakewood, Washington apartment complex was shattered by the sound of gunfire. Responding to reports of a shooting at the Wisteria Walk Apartments, police discovered the bodies of two men inside one of the units. One of the victims was identified as Joseph Smith, a 70-year-old Black/African American male tenant of the apartment. The second victim was Joseph Johnson, 61.
Both men had been shot, and their deaths were ruled homicides by the Pierce County Medical Examiner's Office. Smith died from multiple gunshot wounds.
The investigation into the double homicide quickly led to a suspect. Later that same day, a 30-year-old man named Ontario Lavell Pruitt contacted detectives to turn himself in. According to charging documents, the tragic events stemmed from a death that occurred in Smith's apartment the previous day. Pruitt's uncle had died of a suspected drug overdose in Smith's residence. Upset over his uncle's death, Pruitt, accompanied by his cousin and a friend, went to the apartment to confront Smith.
According to the account provided by Pruitt's cousin to detectives, an argument ensued. Pruitt was reportedly face-to-face with Smith when Smith fell to the ground as gunshots rang out. The cousin stated that he fled immediately and was unaware that Pruitt was armed. Investigators believe that Pruitt first shot Johnson and then shot Smith multiple times as he lay on the ground.
Following his surrender, Ontario Lavell Pruitt was charged with two counts of aggravated first-degree murder and one count of first-degree unlawful possession of a firearm. He entered pleas of not guilty, and his bail was set at $5 million. A nephew of Joseph Smith, Darryl Williams, described his uncle as a man who "wouldn't harm a soul" and had lived in Lakewood for over a decade. He stated that the overdose death in his uncle's apartment did not mean his uncle was responsible for it.
