Hartford Child Killer Gets Long Prison Sentence: State

HARTFORD, CT — A 23-year-old child killer will spend the next four decades of his life behind bars after a state judge Tuesday sentenced him to prison for killing a preschool-aged boy in 2021.

Sharmese L. Walcott, Hartford's state’s attorney, said Wednesday that Judge Nuala E. Droney on Tuesday, Dec. 10, sentenced Jaziah Smith, 23, of Hartford, to 40 years in prison for the 2021 fatal shooting of 3-year-old Randell Jones, Jr. in Hartford.

On Sept. 17, a Superior Court jury in Hartford found Smith guilty of murder.

According to evidence introduced at the trial, on April 10, 2021, police were dispatched to Saint Francis Hospital’s emergency room in Hartford to speak with Randell’s mother.

Walcott said the mother reported driving by the intersection of Garden Street and Nelson Street, where she stopped to speak to her brother.

That's when a car with the defendant and others inside drove up and started shooting at her vehicle and then fled the scene, Walcott said.

She said when the mother 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.

Walcott said the mother drove immediately to the hospital but, despite the efforts of doctors, the child died.

Family members of the victim and the defendant attended the sentencing hearing in Hartford Superior Court, state officials said.

Walcott said that is where the court heard victim-impact statements and a statement from the defendant in which he apologized to the victim’s mother and his 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.

Walcott extended sympathy to the parents and family of Randell, and gratitude to the Hartford Police Department and the Hartford State’s Attorney’s Office.

“The Hartford State’s Attorney’s Office is committed to holding accountable those who commit gun violence in our communities,” 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.”

From Sept. 23: 'Hartford Man Guilty Of Killing 3-Year-Old In 2021: State'

From April 19, 2021: 'Police Make Arrest In Homicide Of Hartford 3-Year-Old'

From April 10, 2021: 'Child 3, Shot, Killed In Hartford Identified: UPDATE'