Devon Smith told a jury he was acting to protect himself and his wife when he shot and killed a man known as “the Grim Reaper” in a Pensacola hotel lobby.
However, during the first day of Smith’s murder trial July 22, the prosecution—and seemingly surveillance video—painted Smith as the aggressor in the shooting.
Smith, 31, is charged with second-degree murder in the death of Jabbaar Franklin, who was killed while standing inside the lobby of a Days Inn in 2023,
Testifying in his own defense, Smith said he fired four shots into Franklin because of a longstanding disagreement he had with Franklin and threats he said instilled fear in him.
“I thought he was fixin’ to possibly shoot me or possibly do anything that was dangerous at that moment that could endanger my life or my (wife’s),” Smith testified before a jury. “At that moment, I had shot once.”
While on the stand, Smith outlined a history of confrontations he’s had with Franklin over the years, including Franklin allegedly stabbing him in the neck and threatening to kill him.
Along with Smith’s claim of Franklin stabbing him in the neck in December 2021 over a misunderstanding, he testified that the community knows Franklin as “the Grim Reaper” and someone who would murder others. During the trial, Escambia County Sheriff’s Office investigator John Little testified that his department investigated Franklin for murder and arrested him in 2022 on a second-degree murder charge.
According to court records and trial testimony, Franklin was out on $1 million bond when he was fatally shot by Smith.
Smith said all of those circumstances went through his mind when he claims he saw Franklin reach toward his waistband as they came face-to-face in the Days Inn lobby.
However, Assistant State Attorney Amy Shea entered surveillance footage into evidence and allowed the jury to see exactly what happened the day Franklin died.
In the video, jurors watched as Smith stood in the lobby door to check on his wife who earlier went inside to check out of their hotel room. As he stands there, Franklin is seen walking past him into the lobby.
That’s when Smith testified he recognized him. Within six seconds of entering the lobby, according to Shea, Smith pulled out a firearm and began shooting Franklin, who was holding a water bottle in one hand and a cell phone in the other.
“You chased him around the counter, didn’t you?” Shea asked Smith on the stand.
Smith replied, “Yes, ma’am.”
The video appears to show Franklin hold his hands up and recoil backwards as Smith draws the firearm and begins shooting. Franklin then falls out of frame as Smith initially turns to leave the hotel, but as he’s about to exit he returns to Franklin, fires an additional shot and grabs Franklin’s cell phone.
Smith then fled the hotel, leaving his wife behind. It took nearly five months before law enforcement officers found him and used a SWAT team to detain him.
“This is not a whodunit mystery,” said Joseph Reosti, Smith’s attorney. “At that time, Devon Smith was convinced that he and his wife were in mortal danger.
“He had no time to retreat or avenue of escape without leaving himself or his wife in peril,” Reosti added as he spoke to the jury. “He then shot Jabbaar Franklin off camera four times. During all of these shots, Devon Smith believed that Jabbaar Franklin was armed and continuously posed a mortal threat to he and his wife, who was still positioned behind Jabbaar Franklin.”
Smith’s trial is scheduled to conclude July 23.
Benjamin Johnson is the breaking news, crime and military reporter for the Pensacola News Journal. He covers local law enforcement, courts, breaking news and military within Escambia and Santa Rosa counties. He can be reached at bjohnson@pnj.com.
This article originally appeared on Pensacola News Journal: Man says he killed ‘Grim Reaper’ in self-defense. Video tells different story
Reporting by Benjamin Johnson, Pensacola News Journal / Pensacola News Journal
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By Benjamin Johnson, Pensacola News Journal | USA TODAY Network
