Columbia shooting suspect arrested in Tennessee
The suspect in a Wednesday shooting in north Columbia has been arrested in Memphis, Tennessee.
Derrick Smith, 30, was listed as an inmate on the Shelby County, Tennessee jail’s website Friday morning.
Boone County prosecutor Roger Johnson wrote in an email Friday that he was informed by local police that Smith had been arrested in Memphis. Columbia police confirmed in a news release issued later Friday morning that Smith had been arrested at 7 p.m. Thursday by Memphis police.
Smith is suspected of shooting a man four times, leaving him with life-threatening injuries, outside an apartment building on Leeway Drive. Court documents say multiple witnesses connected Smith, whose nickname is “Memphis,” to the shooting.
Smith was jailed on no bond. He is charged with first-degree assault and armed criminal action in Boone County.
Johnson said although he is not certain about Tennessee statute, he believes the process would work similarly to Missouri’s.
“When we have someone here that’s arrested on a warrant issued by a judge in another state, we can file a fugitive complaint with the local court,” Johnson said. “We do that following verification from the other jurisdiction that the warrant is active and that they do want to extradite.”
It is unclear when Smith will be extradited to Boone County to face charges here
A court clerk in Memphis said Smith had an original sentence of six years in September 2016 but then that sentence was suspended and Smith was placed on probation instead.
The clerk said Smith had a warrant out for his arrest since May 2017.
Whether Tennessee is Smith’s place of residency and the condition of the victim are also unclear. Columbia police did not release the victim’s name, citing medical privacy laws.
