In the autumn of 2000, Stephanie Smith, a woman living in Phoenix, Arizona, found her life tragically intertwined with the violent world of street gangs. On November 7, while at her job at the Affordable Massage parlor, two armed men, Ruben Johnson and Jarvis Ross, both affiliated with the Lindo Park Crips, forced their way in through a back door. They proceeded to rob Smith and another individual before making their escape. Although Johnson managed to get away, Ross was apprehended by law enforcement shortly after the incident. Both Smith and the other victim positively identified Ross as one of the assailants.
Stephanie Smith was scheduled to provide crucial testimony against Ross at a preliminary hearing on November 15, 2000. Determined to silence her, Ruben Johnson took matters into his own hands. After coercing an acquaintance into revealing Smith's home address, Johnson, accompanied by a fellow gang member named Quindell Carter, made his way to her residence in the early morning hours of November 15. Inside, Smith was in a bedroom, reading to her four-year-old son, Jordan.
The quiet scene was shattered when Johnson entered the house. Following a brief and terrifying confrontation, Johnson fatally shot Stephanie Smith in the head, callously taking her life in front of her young child. While Carter was apprehended near the scene of the crime, Johnson once again managed to evade immediate capture. His freedom, however, would be short-lived.
Two days after the murder, Johnson made a fateful decision. He visited an acquaintance, Phyllis Hansen, a clerk at the Maryvale Justice Court. In a moment of unguarded arrogance, he confessed to being the unnamed suspect in the news reports about Smith's murder. He admitted to killing her to prevent her from testifying against his "cuz or one of his homies," a clear reference to Jarvis Ross. Hansen promptly relayed this damning confession to the police, along with papers Johnson had left behind that contained incriminating evidence. This information led to Johnson's arrest. He was subsequently tried, and on December 22, 2003, a jury found him guilty of first-degree murder. For the cold-blooded execution of Stephanie Smith, Ruben Johnson was sentenced to death. He also received additional sentences for assisting a criminal syndicate and for the initial armed robbery. Jarvis Ross also faced legal repercussions for his role in the robbery that set the tragic events in motion.
