Topeka, KANSAS – According to the court documents, his name is Javon Smith and he was sentenced to 20 years in prison for the 2017 shooting death of 18-year-old Kianna Hodge.
Smith was sentenced on Thursday, court records say.
The 20-year-old defendant pleaded guilty Oct. 26 to second-degree murder and the criminal discharge of a weapon into an occupied vehicle in exchange for the dismissal of charges of four counts of aggravated battery, one count of the criminal discharge of a weapon into an occupied vehicle and an alternative count of second-degree murder, according to court records.
On March 4, 2017, officers responded to the scene of the shooting, committed by a man who had been on foot at S.E. 23rd and Bellview, of three men and two women in two separate vehicles.
The responding officers found 53 shell casings at the intersection.
In 2020, after a 3-year investigation, Kagay said a new development was made and officials moved quickly to finalize the case and charges were filed in November 2020.
This story will be updated as new information become available.