On the afternoon of May 3, 2018, 38-year-old Rondell Wills, a Black male from Southeast, D.C., was on the 200 block of 50th Street in Northeast, Washington, D.C., when a drive-by shooting occurred. In a heroic act, Wills attempted to shield children from the gunfire and was tragically struck in the neck. Emergency services responded to the scene around 5:30 p.m. and transported him to a local hospital, where he succumbed to his injuries.
It was later determined that Wills was not the intended target of the shooting.
The investigation into the homicide led authorities to identify Eric Maurice Smith, who was 19 years old at the time of the incident, as the primary suspect. Court documents revealed that Smith was allegedly the driver of the stolen vehicle used in the drive-by shooting. Investigators found his fingerprints on the steering wheel of the car, and surveillance footage captured an individual resembling Smith inside the vehicle.
Eric Maurice Smith was subsequently arrested and charged with premeditated first-degree murder while armed, as well as assault with intent to kill against a minor. Despite his defense attorney's argument that the presence of his fingerprints could be explained by the car having been stolen a week prior to the shooting, a judge denied his release, and he was held without bond. In October 2022, Smith's release conditions were revised, allowing him to check in with pretrial services by phone. At that time, both the prosecution and defense were planning to conduct further DNA testing in the ongoing case.
