In the late hours of a Thursday night in Pleasantville, New Jersey, the life of 19-year-old Mark Smith was tragically cut short. On July 14, 2016, police responded to multiple 9-1-1 calls on Vola Lane around 11:23 p.m. and found the young man on the ground with a severe head wound. Emergency responders rushed him to the AtlantiCare Medical Center—City Campus, but his injuries were too grave. Just after midnight, on July 15, 2016, Mark Smith was pronounced dead.
An autopsy would later reveal that the cause of his death was gunshot wounds to his head and neck, ruling it a homicide.
The investigation into the shooting death of the young male quickly unfolded, leading authorities to three individuals from Pleasantville. Hassan Montague-Reed, who was 22 years old at the time, was identified as the primary suspect in the murder. Two others, 19-year-old Dijon X. Emory and 21-year-old Shaheedah T. Frisby, were also implicated in a sinister plot connected to the killing.
Following the shooting, Montague-Reed, Emory, and Frisby allegedly took drastic measures to silence a witness to the crime. They are accused of forcing the individual into the basement of a residence on Abbey Lane. There, the witness was held for a significant period, with the intention of preventing them from cooperating with law enforcement. The witness was eventually released.
Authorities moved swiftly to apprehend the suspects. Dijon X. Emory and Shaheedah T. Frisby were arrested and charged with kidnapping and witness tampering. Hassan Montague-Reed, however, managed to evade capture and remained at large for a period of time, prompting a public appeal for information on his whereabouts. He was eventually apprehended. Montague-Reed faced a charge of murder, in addition to charges of kidnapping and witness tampering, for his role in the death of Mark Smith and the subsequent attempt to cover up the crime.
