SPOKANE, Wash.- Documents released by the Spokane County criminal court today offer new information about a shooting which sent a flurry of law enforcement through downtown on Feb. 23.
Richard Smith, an 18-year-old who was arrested by the Spokane Police Department (SPD) on Feb. 24, is accused of committing 1st degree assault near the 7/11 gas station downtown.
According to court documents, Smith was with a group of men who appeared to be exchanging items between each other.
When Smith attempted to walk away, another person involved in the interaction attempted to stop him from leaving, at which point Smith allegedly revealed a small handgun and shot the person who had pushed him.
The other people involved in the interaction fled while Smith ran to a red car which was waiting near the 7/11.
The person who was shot offered an account of the events leading up to the shooting to police. He says that he confronted Smith because he owed him money, who told him he would not pay. Smith then allegedly shot him after being pushed, and he sustained gunshot wounds to his left leg and stomach.
Court documents illustrate a complicated picture as to what occurred after Smith shot the person with whom he had an argument. It appears that he fled to a Spokane Valley apartment complex where he lived and where a woman he knew was located before being arrested.
Another portion of the documents include an individual who said that Smith had sold her fentanyl at a point prior to his arrest. It is unclear whether additional charges against him will be made by prosecutors.
Smith is currently in Spokane County Jail.
