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Thread: Quentin Lamar Smith Sentenced to LWOP in 2018 OH Murder of Officers Anthony Morelli and Eric Joering

  1. #21
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    Inmate says Quentin Smith told him he prepared for a shoot-out with officers

    By Lou Anna Stoia
    ABC 6 On Your Side

    COLUMBUS, Ohio — Quentin Smith watched intently as his wife Candace took the witness stand in his murder trial Wednesday. Quentin is accused of killing Westerville police officers Eric Joering and Anthony Morelli in February 2018.

    Candace said Quentin was abusive in their relationship after they married in February 2014. Judge Richard Frye ordered the media not to record audio or video of the testimony. But reporters were permitted to take notes in the courtroom.

    Candace said Quentin had borrowed her car to go to Walmart and found a badge of one of her co-workers in her car and was enraged. Candace said Quentin was FaceTiming her and came home angry.

    Candace testified that Quentin punched her in the face and choked her until she was unconscious on Saturday, February 10, 2018.

    “He proceeded to punch me in face with a closed fist. I don’t know if I fell off bed or he pulled me, he was choking me with both hands. I lost consciousness. I remember waking up with him slapping my face and saying my name,” said Candace.

    When Candace came to, she said she called 9-1-1 but hung up before talking to dispatchers because she was too scared that Quentin would hear her talking.

    Officer Tony Morelli and Officer Eric Joering knocked on the front door of Candace’s apartment. Candace said Quentin had hidden his gun, and hers on a couch near the door.

    Candace said she moved the door back so police could see her.

    “I said, he just got done beating me up, and he has a gun.”

    James Lowe, the assistant prosecutor asked, did officers say anything?

    Candace said, “the officers said don’t do it, don’t do it,” then shots were fired.

    In other testimony, Candace said she had an in-vitro procedure, so she could have a child with Quentin. Candace also said she had a same-sex marriage before she married Quentin. “Same-sex marriage was not legal in Ohio at the time. When became legal we filed dissolution.”

    On cross-examination, Candace said she told police officers that her husband “suffers from Schizo-effective disorder” and takes medication for that. Candace said Quentin was not taking his meds that day “and that was not a good thing.”

    Quentin Smith’s lawyers are focusing on the chaos of the shootings, the panicked nature of the gunfire in a confined space, how quick it happened, and arguing it wasn’t planned. Without proving there was prior calculation and design, the jury could convict on murder, rather than aggravated murder, eliminating death as a sentencing option.

    The defense Prosecutors have argued Smith intended to kill the officers. Smith faces the possibility of the death penalty if he is convicted of “aggravated murder with specifications.”

    Testimony wrapped up Wednesday in the capital case of Quentin Smith, on trial for the aggravated murders of two Westerville Police officers.

    An inmate from the Franklin County jail Wednesday told jurors that he talked with Smith about the day the shootings happened. ”He told me that during the course of the time he had an argument with his wife. Previously he had just moved back in and that during the night of the incident she had called police, that he had guns and drugs in the house.”

    The inmate said, “He pretty much was prepared with prepared for this day because he went to the shooting-range to prepare for something like this. He said he would hold court in the street before he would go back to jail.”

    Prosecutor James Lowe asked, “did he tell you anything about his shooting skills? No, said the inmate.

    “What else did he tell you,” asked Lowe.

    “He told me he observed the officer behind his house and two in the front before he even opened the door. Because he had guns and drugs in his house that he had pulled his gun and shot the first officer twice, the other officer shot him twice in the abdomen, then he shot him in the head,” the inmate said.

    Closing arguments are expected Thursday. Judge Richard Frye told jurors to bring a bag to court Friday in the event they need to be sequestered in a hotel as they work toward a verdict in the case.

    If Smith is found guilty of aggravated murder, a second death penalty phase of the trial will begin next week.

    https://abc6onyourside.com/news/loca...olice-officers
    "I realize this may sound harsh, but as a father and former lawman, I really don't care if it's by lethal injection, by the electric chair, firing squad, hanging, the guillotine or being fed to the lions."
    - Oklahoma Rep. Mike Christian

    "There are some people who just do not deserve to live,"
    - Rev. Richard Hawke

    “There are lots of extremely smug and self-satisfied people in what would be deemed lower down in society, who also deserve to be pulled up. In a proper free society, you should be allowed to make jokes about absolutely anything.”
    - Rowan Atkinson

  2. #22
    Senior Member CnCP Legend Mastro Titta's Avatar
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    Quentin Smith found guilty on all counts in officer deaths

    By Ken Robinson
    WTAM

    (Franklin County) -- A jury is found Quentin Smith guilty in the deadly shooting of two Westerville police officers.

    Jurors deliberated for just three-and-a-half hours before returning their verdict today. They found Smith guilty on all counts.

    Prosecutors say Smith gunned down officers Anthony Morelli and Eric Joering last year after going to his house for a domestic violence call.

    Smith's lawyer maintains his client didn't mean to kill the men. The jury will resume deliberations Monday to determined if he'll get the death penalty or life in prison.

    https://wtam.iheart.com/content/2019...fficer-deaths/

  3. #23
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    Family Of Slain Westerville Officers Testify In Quentin Smith's Sentencing

    By Nick Evans
    WOSU News

    Sentencing proceedings began Monday in the case of the man convicted of murdering two Westerville Police officers.

    After finding Quentin Smith guilty Friday of murdering officers Anthony Morelli and Eric Joering, jurors are back in court this week weighing whether there are sufficient mitigating factors to keep him off death row.

    The jury found Smith guilty of two counts of aggravated murder, which carry a penalty of life in prison or the death penalty, along with two counts of murder and one count of domestic violence.

    Defense attorney Diane Menashe argues the circumstances of the incident do not merit capital punishment.

    “What’s mitigating about the nature and circumstances of the offense is the quickness of the incident,” she says. “The 74 seconds, the fact that when he opened the door he had no gun. The fact that Quentin Smith was not on his prescription medication at the time of the offense.”

    The defense is also arguing Smith is the product of a troubled upbringing marked by violence and substance abuse.

    Prosecutors wrapped up their arguments Monday after the officers’ widows and one of their daughters read victims impact statements.

    "Can you imagine being in 7th grade and knowing your father had been gunned down?” Jami Joering read to the jury. “The other two girls crumbled upon hearing what had happened."

    Morreli’s widow Linda Morelli told jurors, “The 10th of every month is a hard day emotionally to get through. Every holiday, birthday, anniversary, and family gathering we are missing him.”

    Morreli’s daughter Beth told jurors she was engaged at the time of her father’s murder. She got their last name tattooed on her foot in her dad’s handwriting.

    “It was like he was walking me down the aisle,” she said holding back tears.

    https://radio.wosu.org/post/family-s...ncing#stream/0
    "I realize this may sound harsh, but as a father and former lawman, I really don't care if it's by lethal injection, by the electric chair, firing squad, hanging, the guillotine or being fed to the lions."
    - Oklahoma Rep. Mike Christian

    "There are some people who just do not deserve to live,"
    - Rev. Richard Hawke

    “There are lots of extremely smug and self-satisfied people in what would be deemed lower down in society, who also deserve to be pulled up. In a proper free society, you should be allowed to make jokes about absolutely anything.”
    - Rowan Atkinson

  4. #24
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    Jurors expected to begin deliberations Wednesday in capital murder case

    By Lu Ann Stoia
    ABC 6 On Your Side

    COLUMBUS, Ohio (WYSX/WTTE) — A forensic psychologist described convicted cop killer Quentin Smith as depressed, defeated, and done. Smith is in the penalty phase of his trial in the murders of Westerville officers Eric Joering and Anthony Morelli. Defense lawyers are trying to keep Smith off death row.

    In testimony on Tuesday, Dr. John Fabian said Smith had problems with his “job, problems with finances, out of control relationships, mental health issues, addiction, and instability where he was living.“

    “A lot of these defendants don’t trust folks and have never dealt with any of their skeletons, so to speak, and I got to, unfortunately, dig them up,” Fabian said. “There is certainly early childhood abuse and neglect.”

    Fabian outlined a history of multiple concussions and a cognitive deficit. “I just don’t think his brain functions right. I would say a broken brain.”

    Fabian admitted that Smith has made poor choices. The defense said Smith suffers from mental illness, including schizoaffective disorder, PTSD, Bi-polar, and he wasn’t taking his medications as prescribed.

    “I don’t know if I have ever seen him smile. He has always looked like this. As I see him now, despondent, flat, unemotional, dysphoric, depressed, defeated,” Fabian said.

    On cross-examination, Fabian agreed with Prosecutor Ron O’Brien who said Smith had issues with his relationships and with police.

    O’Brien said, “it seems every woman we can track the defendant with, he is engaging in domestic violence, threatening with guns or assaulting them, is that correct?” Fabian answered yes.

    O’Brien asked Fabian, “whenever he dealt with law enforcement he had a problem?”

    Fabian said, “yes, I remember he had behavior problems in school, and write-ups for that, and beyond certainly with law enforcement.”

    On an occasion in 2017, O’Brien said that while Smith was armed with a gun, he had threatened to kill his wife Candace and her unborn baby if she didn’t leave with him. “He said ‘I am going to kill you if you don’t leave with me. You are not going to be with anyone.’ Did you see that statement? Did you see her statement to police, ‘you can get an abortion and not be with me, or you can die.’ Is that what she told the police?” O’Brien asked Fabian.

    “She said that, yes,” said the psychologist.

    Judge Richard Frye reminded jurors not to use, for or against, that Smith chose not to testify in either phase of the trial.

    After closing arguments Wednesday, jurors will begin deliberations on whether Smith will be put on death row. If no decision is reached, the jurors will be sequestered in a hotel for the night.

    https://abc6onyourside.com/news/loca...al-murder-case
    "I realize this may sound harsh, but as a father and former lawman, I really don't care if it's by lethal injection, by the electric chair, firing squad, hanging, the guillotine or being fed to the lions."
    - Oklahoma Rep. Mike Christian

    "There are some people who just do not deserve to live,"
    - Rev. Richard Hawke

    “There are lots of extremely smug and self-satisfied people in what would be deemed lower down in society, who also deserve to be pulled up. In a proper free society, you should be allowed to make jokes about absolutely anything.”
    - Rowan Atkinson

  5. #25
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    Jurors recommend life without possibility of parole for Quentin Smith

    By Glen McEntyre
    WBNS News

    COLUMBUS, Ohio — A Franklin County jury has determined the fate of a man who shot and killed two Westerville police officers.

    The jury recommended life without possibility of parole for Quentin Smith.

    Smith, who was found guilty last week in the aggravated murders of officers Anthony Morelli and Eric Joering, had the potential to receive the death sentence.

    Recommending a death sentence would require a unanimous verdict from the jury.

    After nearly four hours of deliberation, they told the judge they were deadlocked on that decision, therefore agreeing unanimously on life without the possibility of parole.

    On Feb. 10, 2018, Joering and Morelli were responding to a 911 hang-up call when they were shot and killed by Smith.

    Prosecutors asked jurors to return a verdict for the death sentence.

    Smith's attorney spoke directly to the jury, saying prosecutors were asking to kill him. While never denying that Smith killed Morelli and Joering, the defense argued that Smith was the damaged product of an abusive, chaotic childhood.

    "This is not a situation where there are any winners. Lives have been destroyed on both sides of this thing. That's something only God himself will be able to solve down the line for the families and Mr. Smith," said Smith's attorney, Frederick Benton.

    A judge will deliver an official sentence for Smith on Nov. 21.

    https://www.10tv.com/article/jurors-...smith-2019-nov
    "I realize this may sound harsh, but as a father and former lawman, I really don't care if it's by lethal injection, by the electric chair, firing squad, hanging, the guillotine or being fed to the lions."
    - Oklahoma Rep. Mike Christian

    "There are some people who just do not deserve to live,"
    - Rev. Richard Hawke

    “There are lots of extremely smug and self-satisfied people in what would be deemed lower down in society, who also deserve to be pulled up. In a proper free society, you should be allowed to make jokes about absolutely anything.”
    - Rowan Atkinson

  6. #26
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    Quentin Smith sentenced to life without parole for killing Westerville officers

    By Glen McEntyre
    WBNS News

    The man convicted of killing two Westerville police officers will spend the rest of his life in prison.

    Thursday Judge Richard Frye sentenced Quentin Smith to two life sentences, plus 26.5 years.

    Smith murdered Officers Eric Joering and Anthony Morelli in February 2018.

    Just as he did throughout his murder trial, at his sentencing Thursday, Quentin Smith said nothing and showed nothing: no expression, no emotion, no signs of remorse. And given a final chance to speak, he declined.

    Friday the families of Officers Eric Joering and Anthony Morelli asked not to be photographed.

    They chose not to speak, standing on the powerful words they shared during the trial.

    "I would like everyone to know, that Tony was not just an officer- that he was a son, a brother, a husband and a father," Linda Morelli told jurors.

    "The girls to this day will call his cell phone to hear his voice on the voicemail because that's the only thing that brings them comfort," testified Jami Joering. "They will text him to wish him happy birthday, or simply tell him about their day."

    Judge Richard Frye shared these words from the Joering family.

    "They said, 'We understand Mr. Smith was shot several times, does he wonder why he's still living? We fully believe God spared him that day to give him time to repent for this awful crime. Because God does love him and wants him to spend all eternity in heaven. God has given this man a chance to tell people that he is sorry for what he did.'"

    Frye added: "This jury spared your life- and you owe it to the rest of us to take this to heart. And to be as good a person for the rest of your life as you can possibly be. It will not pay back the families and the community that you cost these wonderful officers but it will be a way for you to show in some small way, some remorse."

    Smith was eligible for the death penalty, but the jury instead recommended life in prison, and by law, the judge was not allowed to overrule them and impose death.

    Franklin County Prosecutor Ron O'Brien said he and the officers' families accept that sentence, with the knowledge that Quentin Smith will die in prison.

    https://www.10tv.com/article/quentin...icers-2019-nov
    "I realize this may sound harsh, but as a father and former lawman, I really don't care if it's by lethal injection, by the electric chair, firing squad, hanging, the guillotine or being fed to the lions."
    - Oklahoma Rep. Mike Christian

    "There are some people who just do not deserve to live,"
    - Rev. Richard Hawke

    “There are lots of extremely smug and self-satisfied people in what would be deemed lower down in society, who also deserve to be pulled up. In a proper free society, you should be allowed to make jokes about absolutely anything.”
    - Rowan Atkinson

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