Murder Charges Filed In 2018 Sarasota Shooting Death: Police

SARASOTA, FL — More than two years later, a suspect has been arrested in connection to a shooting death in Sarasota.

Howard China Smith, III, 22, of Sarasota faces murder and armed robbery with a firearm charges, Sarasota police said in a news release.

On Jan. 20, 2018, around 7 p.m., officers responded to the area of 31st Street and Maple Avenue to investigate a shooting. When they arrived, they found a 32-year-old man in the road near his car with gunshot wounds. The victim, whose name is being withheld under Marsy’s Law, was brought to Sarasota Memorial Hospital, where he later died from his injuries, police said.

Witnesses told officers that the victim had pulled up to a home on 31st Street and sat in his car, talking on the phone. Then, he walked into a house and back out to his car. Witnesses said they heard at least four gunshots and saw three people run from the area, police said.

Several 9mm shell casings were collected from the crime scene. In February 2018, the Florida Department of Law Enforcement told Sarasota police that the 9mm shell casings found at the crime scene were all fired from the same weapon.

In March 2018, Sarasota officers executed a search warrant at Smith’s home in the 3300 block of Central Avenue on an unrelated case. During the search, officers found a black Glock 9mm semi-automatic handgun with an extended magazine, which they sent to FDLE, police said.

In June 2018, the FDLE told Sarasota police that the shell casings found at the scene of the January shooting were fired from the gun found at Smith’s home.

Like what you're reading? Invite a friend to subscribe to free Sarasota newsletters and real-time email alerts.

Smith was arrested on charges for an unrelated narcotics case in March 2018 and sentenced to three years in prison in the Florida Department of Corrections. In March 2021, a confidential witness told detectives that Smith made incriminating statements implicating himself in the 2018 shooting death, police said.

In May, the Florida State Attorney’s Office of the 12th Judicial Circuit filed charges of murder and armed robbery with a firearm based on physical evidence and multiple witness accounts, police said.

Smith was transferred from the Marion Correctional Institution in Ocala to the Sarasota County Jail. An arraignment is scheduled for July 23.