(Hartford, CT) – Sharmese L. Walcott, State’s Attorney for the Judicial District of Hartford, today announced that the Honorable Nuala E. Droney on December 10, 2024 sentenced Jaziah Smith, age 23, of Hartford, to 40 years in prison for the 2021 fatal shooting of 3-year-old Randell Jones, Jr. in Hartford.
A Superior Court jury in Hartford on September 17, 2024 found Smith guilty of Murder in violation of Connecticut General Statutes § 53a-54a. According to evidence introduced at the trial, on April 10, 2021, police were dispatched to Saint Francis Hospital’s emergency room to speak with Randell’s mother. She reported driving by the intersection of Garden Street and Nelson Street, where she stopped to speak to her brother. A car with the defendant and others inside then drove up and started shooting at her vehicle and then fled the scene. When she looked in the back seat to check on her children, she saw that Randell had been shot. The other two children in the vehicle were not struck by the gunfire. She drove immediately to the hospital but despite the efforts of the emergency room, the child succumbed to his injuries and passed away.
Family members of the victim and the defendant attended the sentencing hearing in Superior Court where the Court heard victim-impact statements about the tragic loss of Randell and a statement from the defendant in which he apologized to the victim’s mother and to his own mother for his actions.
This case was prosecuted by Supervisory Assistant State’s Attorney Robert Diaz, Assistant State’s Attorney Stacey Cox, with the assistance of Inspector Luis Rodriguez and Paralegal Specialists Lakisha Malave, Antoine Campbell, and Kelly Randall.
State’s Attorney Walcott wishes to extend deepest sympathy to the parents and family of Randell, and gratitude to the Hartford Police Department and the Hartford State’s Attorney’s Office prosecution team for their hard work and dedication to resolving this case.
“The Hartford State’s Attorney’s Office is committed to holding accountable those who commit gun violence in our communities,” State’s Attorney Walcott said. “This senseless killing devastated the family of Randell Jones and forever changed the lives of the young people involved in the crime who now – instead of looking forward to meaningful and productive lives - must face severe consequences for their actions.”