In the winter of 2017, a young man's life was tragically cut short over a coveted pair of sneakers. Seventeen-year-old James Anthony Smith, a junior at Ballou High School in Washington, D.C., had recently received an early Christmas present from his mother: a pair of cherry-red Air Jordan 11s. It was all he had asked for, a simple wish for a teenager with aspirations of improving his grades and playing football.
On the evening of December 18th, near a playground at the Frederick Douglass
Community Center in Southeast Washington, a confrontation turned fatal. A 15-year-old demanded Smith's new shoes. When Smith tried to flee, he was pursued and shot multiple times. First responders found him unconscious and unresponsive, his prized sneakers missing. He was rushed to a nearby hospital but ultimately succumbed to his injuries. His mother would later express a heart-wrenching regret, stating, 'I wish I never bought them.'
The investigation into the senseless killing led D.C. police to a 16-year-old male from Southeast D.C., who was arrested and charged with felony murder in March of the following year. The case against the teen was built on the testimony of three of Smith's friends who witnessed the robbery. They told the court they saw the defendant fighting with Smith and demanding the shoes. While they did not see the actual shooting, they heard the gunshots and, upon running to their friend's aid, found his body. They then witnessed the alleged assailant with his friends, holding the stolen sneakers before fleeing the scene.
In August 2018, a D.C. Superior Court judge found the now 16-year-old guilty of second-degree murder, robbery, and other offenses. The verdict was delivered in a juvenile proceeding where a judge, not a jury, decides the outcome. The teenage perpetrator was sentenced for his role in the robbery and fatal shooting that stemmed from a desire for a pair of basketball shoes.
