Andrena Smith, a 22-year-old White/Caucasian woman, was killed in Charleston, West Virginia, during the early morning hours of November 10, 2015, after going to a Lakin Street residence to check on her boyfriend’s relatives. The household had been the target of repeated gunfire connected to a dispute involving Jonathan Bush, the former boyfriend of resident Omani Roohollahi.
Police said Bush had allegedly fired several rounds toward the Roohollahi home and nearby vehicles on Sunday and returned Monday, when another shot was fired toward the house. Matthew Roohollahi, Omani’s brother, called authorities about the gunfire, and by the time Smith went to the residence, the people inside were fearful that Bush might return.
According to the criminal complaint, a neighbor, Mark Elswick, had witnessed portions of the escalating situation. After the house was fired upon, Elswick reported seeing Matthew Roohollahi walking on the street carrying a rifle equipped with a scope. Roohollahi allegedly said that he was ready if Bush returned. Around the same period, a witness reported seeing a gray van make repeated passes in front of the residence and later seeing a limousine pass the house shortly before another gunshot was heard. Police were already responding to investigate the shootings when Smith arrived to see whether her boyfriend’s family was safe.
Elswick told investigators that he went to the Roohollahi residence to check on the occupants and repeatedly announced himself before entering. According to the complaint, Roohollahi pulled him inside and brought him toward a staircase positioned directly in front of the entrance. Elswick said Roohollahi then lay on the stairs with the scoped rifle aimed toward the front door. Moments later, Roohollahi fired a single round through the door. The bullet struck Smith in the chest as she stood outside. Elswick told police that he had heard no noises at the entrance and had not heard anyone attempting to break into the residence before the shot was fired. Smith died from the gunshot wound.
Charleston investigators initially believed Roohollahi may have mistaken Smith for Bush, the man he feared was returning to attack the house. After detectives consulted with the Kanawha County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office, Roohollahi was arrested later on November 10 and charged with first-degree murder. His defense attorney, former Kanawha County Prosecutor Bill Forbes, maintained that Roohollahi had been acting in self-defense because of the repeated shootings at the residence. Prosecutors and police took a different view, pointing to the witness account that Roohollahi had positioned himself with the rifle aimed at the door and was waiting for Bush to return.
On November 18, 2015, Roohollahi waived his preliminary hearing, allowing the murder charge to proceed toward consideration by a grand jury. He initially remained jailed without bail, although he was subsequently released on a $75,000 property bond and placed on home confinement. The disagreement over his intent continued, with the defense arguing that he reasonably believed the residence and the people inside remained in danger while authorities characterized his position on the staircase as evidence that he had been lying in wait. The central fact, however, was that the person who appeared at the door was not Bush but Smith, who had come to help and check on the family.
The case remained pending for more than a year. In January 2017, a Kanawha County grand jury indicted Roohollahi on first-degree murder, and he was taken back into custody to await trial. Meanwhile, Bush was separately prosecuted for the gunfire that had created the tense circumstances preceding Smith’s death. He was charged with wanton endangerment and, in April 2017, pleaded guilty to four counts of wanton endangerment stemming from the shots fired at the Roohollahi residence.
Roohollahi’s murder prosecution ultimately ended without a murder trial. On May 17, 2017, he pleaded guilty to involuntary manslaughter. During the plea hearing, he said he had been convinced the person outside the door was Bush and described Smith’s killing as a tragic accident. He explained that he feared for the safety of his family because of Bush’s earlier gunfire. Kanawha County Circuit Judge Charles King concluded that the circumstances presented in the case would not support a murder conviction and accepted the lesser plea. King sentenced Roohollahi to one year, noting that the time had effectively already been served through the period Roohollahi spent incarcerated or under home confinement. The resolution left Roohollahi convicted of involuntary manslaughter for firing the fatal shot, while Bush’s separate guilty pleas addressed the gunfire that preceded the shooting and contributed to the fear and confusion surrounding Smith’s death.
