Couple arrested over pastor's murder took selfies smiling and kissing in his stolen car, say police
A couple suspected of robbing and killing Memphis pastor Don Smith posted photos of themselves apparently enjoying the stolen 2010 Buick Lacrosse on social media.
Lashonda Williams and Roger Reed Jr. were arrested on November 5 in Greenville, Mississippi and charged with first-degree murder and aggravated robbery.
Pastor Smith's body was found on November 1 by two men walking their dogs near a pond on the 3400 block of Lichterman Street in Hickory Hill. He had been shot dead, and his wallet and vehicle were missing.
As early as November 2, Williams, 24, and Reed, 23, posted photos to Facebook of themselves smiling and kissing while joyriding in a vehicle. Greenville Assistant Police Chief Delando Wilson confirmed that the photos were taken inside Smith's stolen Lacrosse.
"It just shows how egregious this crime is, you know, that some people, their conscience doesn't bother them," Wilson told FOX13 News. "They have been suspected of a heinous crime. To joyride in the victim's vehicle is pretty heartless."
Police in Greenville spotted the stolen car four days after Smith's death, and attempted to pull the occupants over. A chase ensued, and the suspects fled the vehicle before being arrested. The couple was charged with possession of a stolen vehicle, and will be extradited to Memphis to face the other felonies.
The family of the slain Prospect Park Missionary Baptist Church pastor suspected that robbery was the motive for the killing.
"The only thing I can see is my daddy trying to help someone in the middle of the night, which is something he would do," Smith's daughter, Whitney, told FOX 13 before the suspects were arrested. "He was that kind of person – so helpful he seems naïve sometimes, because he helped everybody... even when they shouldn't be helped."
"We definitely think it was a robbery," Brendan Jones added. "Somebody had to have mugged him, had to have because everybody loved him. He was pretty much like the spokesperson for this community."
Smith would have celebrated his 30th anniversary as pastor later this month.
