Second suspect identified in graduation party shooting | Archives

Christian Mykel Smith, then 15 and now 18, had previously been identified by the Sanford Herald and also charged with the same offenses. He was scheduled to appear for an administrative hearing on June 14. A trial date in his case has not yet been set.

Jason Lamont Harrington Jr., 18, was shot multiple times in a parking lot at the Baymont Inn in Sanford and later died at a hospital, according to a court document.

Between 12 and 13 young people were present for a graduation party, according to a witness cited in a court document.

Three 9mm shell casings were found on the ground near a pool of blood when police arrived around 12:57 a.m.

A witness said Harrington came to his room around 11 p.m. on June 4, 2021.

Bryanna Farrish said she brought three guys to the hotel for the party, along with her cousin Mahogany, who she described as “extremely drunk.” Farrish said she was driving a blue Chrysler 300.

A man who was staying at the hotel reported seeing a blue Chrysler 300 pull up with two men in the back and a female driver. A man approached the vehicle and tried to convince the driver to let another woman stay at the party, the witness said, according to a court document.

The witness said she heard the driver tell the man she couldn't let the other woman stay because she was drunk and she was his responsibility. A man then got out of the car and began fighting with the man who approached the vehicle and then shot him, according to the witness.

“The black man who got out of the car began punching the man at the party,” Detective Gregory Parker wrote. “The man in the group was thrown to the ground. As the black man on the ground got up, the man in the car pulled out a handgun and began shooting him multiple times. I think he was shot once or twice in the head.

A witness said he saw Christian Mykel “Slim” Smith shoot Harrington in the back, then Jquan Tyrone Smith shoot Harrington in the back and head, according to a court document. Before the shooting, the witness said he saw Jquan Tyrone Smith and Harrington fighting.

When Officer Heck arrived on scene, he stated he saw several subjects running towards Brick Capital Apartments.

Parker said in a search warrant for an apartment in the 2600 block of S. Horner Boulevard that he noticed a bullet hole in the rear window of an apartment with blood on the windowsill.

Police said Jquan Tyrone Smith lived at 218 Simmons St. with his grandmother at the time of the shooting.

Both Smiths are being held on $500,000 bail.