In the early hours of a Tuesday morning, the otherwise quiet atmosphere of an Applebee's restaurant in Lawrence Township, New Jersey, was shattered by an act of violence. On November 14, 2017, 23-year-old Devin Smith, a male resident of Lawrence Township, was seated alone at the bar when a man entered the establishment at approximately 12:25 a.m. and fatally shot him in the head. The shooter fled the scene in a dark-colored SUV, leaving patrons in a state of shock. Medics arrived to find Smith, who was pronounced dead at the scene. This tragic event marked the first homicide in Lawrence Township in over 16 years.
The investigation into the death of Devin Smith was swift. The suspect was identified as Noel Powell III, a 27-year-old man also from Lawrence Township. Law enforcement officials believed the shooting was the culmination of an unresolved feud between Powell and Smith.
A manhunt ensued, and a few days later, on November 19, 2017, Powell was apprehended by the Mercer County Homicide Task Force and the U.S. Marshals NY/NJ Regional Fugitive Task Force. He was taken into custody in Trenton and charged with murder, possession of a weapon for an unlawful purpose, and unlawful possession of a weapon.
Following his arrest, Noel Powell III was held at the Mercer County Correction Center. In February 2018, a Mercer County grand jury indicted Powell on charges of first-degree murder, second-degree unlawful possession of a weapon, and second-degree possession of a weapon for an unlawful purpose. The case was then set to proceed through the judicial system. The victim, Devin Smith, was remembered as a father to a young daughter.
