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Sarasota rapper acquitted of attempted murder in 2020 shooting

A Sarasota rapper known as Shugg Stacks was acquitted by a jury following a week-long trial in April in connection with a drive-by shooting on North Washington Boulevard in August 2020.

Jaymes Smith, 32, was charged with two counts of attempted murder in connection with a drive-by shooting in which the shooter's identity was in question.

Sarasota police claimed Smith was the shooter after learning that Smith had rented a black Buick Encore SUV involved in the drive-by just 37 minutes before the shooting. In a probable cause affidavit, SPD investigators alleged the shooting was part of an ongoing “cycle of violence” between two rap groups, including a group called Blowin Bandz, of which Smith was a member.

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Smith's mother, Kim Wheeler, believes law enforcement failed in their due diligence in investigating the case by focusing solely on her son as a suspect, leading her family to spend four years searching for a solution had to wait, which led to psychological, financial and emotional stress.

Wheeler told the Herald-Tribune that two witnesses identified someone other than the shooter, but police appeared to be focused solely on her son.

“That's where I lose a little faith, or should I say, trust in law enforcement,” Wheeler said. “The reason is they are here to protect and serve.”

Smith's attorney, Jason Chapman, repeated Wheeler's statement during a telephone conversation. He said two independent eyewitnesses told police that a second person was behind the wheel of the car and pulled the trigger, but the state continued to prosecute Smith.

People have heard of “innocent until proven guilty,” Wheeler added, but in her son's case, she felt he was treated as if he was guilty until proven guilty.

The Herald-Tribune reached out to Assistant District Attorney William Greiner, the lead prosecutor in the case, for comment. But Greiner was out of state for several days and was unable to comment.

What you should know about the drive-by shooting on North Washington Boulevard

On the afternoon of August 14, 2020, SPD officers responded to a shooting in the 3000 block of North Washington Boulevard, according to a probable cause affidavit.

Officers found four 9mm shell casings and met with a witness who said they were driving down the road when a Buick Encore SUV cut off their path, causing them to slam on the brakes.

The witness told police that the Buick appeared to be pursuing a black Infiniti sedan, according to previous reports. The Buick reportedly drove alongside the Infiniti, pointed a gun out the driver's window and fired several shots. The Buick was registered with Hertz Rental and SPD officers claimed the car was rented to Smith. The probable cause affidavit also stated that police found the Buick at Smith's mother's home.

In a July 2023 defense court filing, Smith states that Sarasota detectives interviewed the Hertz employee three days after the shooting. Investigators presented the employee with two photos, one of Smith and the second of a man identified as Robert Rutledge.

According to court documents, the employee selected the photo of Rutledge as the man who rented the car, but the photo was not used as evidence.

“The evidence immediately establishes a reasonable doubt as to Mr. Smith’s guilt and should be allowed to be presented at trial,” the court document states.

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According to court documents, the defense also filed an order to prevent a rap song found on Smith's phone from being presented during the trial.

In his ruling, Sarasota Circuit Court Judge Thomas Krug partially granted Smith's request to exclude the rap song, with prosecutors only allowing 10 lines for the jury. The prosecution would also not be able to have a witness interpret the song. Instead, the witness can only provide meaning for case-specific terms or names, the order states.

Krug also indicated that he would allow Smith to present evidence that the Hertz employee misidentified the person during the photo series “to refute the state's claim” that Smith allegedly committed the shooting, as long as the Evidence met certain requirements under Florida law.

Chapman, Smith's defense attorney, said he was not surprised by the jury's verdict, which was based on the evidence presented and the state's two key witnesses with criminal histories.

“They even went so far as to bring in two of the worst criminals I've ever seen as witnesses for the state,” Chapman said, adding that one of the witnesses was called to identify Smith as the shooter.

The witnesses, Chapman added, faced life in prison and were granted immunity by the state after admitting to being involved in other shootings.

According to court records, two listed witnesses, Rudy Thompson and Victor Orr, both have extensive criminal records and were identified in several pieces of evidence as victims of the shooting.

A search of Orr and Thompson's court records revealed that in the past three years, both had been involved in a court case in which either a plea was entered or a case was dismissed with the condition that they be tried and testify.

Orr was arrested in June 2021 in connection with a November 2020 shooting in which a Sarasota investigator alleged Orr was a passenger in a vehicle that was shot multiple times. In the probable cause affidavit, the officer claims that a firearm was found during a search of Orr's car, which is a violation of Florida law since Orr has five prior felony convictions.

The case appeared to be headed for trial in February, but prosecutors decided not to pursue prosecution. In an administrative order issued Feb. 2, Orr was held in the Sarasota County Jail pending Smith's trial.

Thompson was arrested in November 2022 and charged with multiple counts of drug possession of a controlled substance without a prescription, resisting an officer without violence and possession of marijuana. He entered a plea deal in November 2023 and received a sentence of 48 months time served, followed by 72 months probation in exchange for “truthful testimony” in the Smith case.

As for the use of the rap song found on Smith's phone, Chapman pointed out that, like any form of art such as films or books, they can be biographical or autobiographical. There are many examples of musical artists like Johnny Cash and Bob Marley who wrote songs about a shooting or crime, but no one believes they committed it, Chapman added.

“I think it's important that artists shouldn't be afraid to express their art because they're afraid that law enforcement might use it against them in a criminal case,” Chapman said.

Smith is being held in the Sarasota County Jail on a charge of evading or evading police while he awaits his trial, scheduled for July.

Sarasota County sheriff's deputies claim in an affidavit that they saw a man, later identified as Smith, riding a dirt bike on MLK Jr. Way and did not stop when they activated their emergency lights in June 2023.

Smith later surrendered to officers after being tracked by the department's helicopter to a property in the 2000 block of Mango Avenue.

A trial is currently scheduled to begin in July, although both Wheeler and Chapman have hinted at a possible plea deal.

Smith's mother hopes he can return home soon and be with his close-knit family, especially his young daughter. Wheeler said Smith was the second oldest of four children and each now had children of their own who were the same age, so the family was always close-knit.

“His departure seemed like a missing piece of the puzzle,” Wheeler said.

Wheeler added that she hopes her son can turn the negative experience into a lesson in conscientious use of his music and associations, especially as he plans to pursue his rap career and start a clothing line with his daughter.

“That's pretty much what I have to say about him: He never lost faith, never gave up. During the time he was there, he had time to reflect on his own life,” Wheeler said.

Gabriela Szymanowska covers the legal system for the Herald-Tribune in collaboration with Report for America. You can support their work with a tax-deductible donation to Report for America. Contact Gabriela Szymanowska at [email protected] or at Twitter.

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