27-year-old Darren Smith of New Rochelle was sentenced on Tuesday for the Summer 2020 shooting in the Getty Square neighborhood of Yonkers.
A traffic stop gone wrong
On September 25, 2020 Yonkers Police Officers noticed Smith had failed to yeild for a pedestrian and was not wearing a seatbelt. When stopped by police in his vehicle, he attempted to flee the scene. He eventually exited his still moving car and began fleeing on foot while holding a Glock 45. As police subdued him to the ground, he fired shots from his weapon. No one was hit, which Assistant U.S. Attorney Shiva Logarajah later described as a “true miracle.” Smith had previously been convicted on a weapons charge, and was on parole at the time of the shooting.
Daren Smith faced charges of attempted murder, assaulting a federal officer, discharging a weapon during said assault, and possessing a firearm as a felon. The attempted murder and assaulting a federal officer charge stem from officer YPD Detective Brian Menton serving on the FBI’s Safe Streets Task Force. Menton sustained a sprained knee, broken finger, and cuts to his hand from his attempt to dislodge the gun from Smith’s hand. Defense Attorney Lance Clarke referred to Menton as a hero for his actions and self-restraint in not firing his own weapon that day.
A jury convicted Smith for all but attempted murder charge in September of 2022. Smith claimed he did not intend to fire his gun. Even at sentencing he said, “I was in the wrong but I didn’t have intent to fire that weapon.” On that, jurors could not reach a unanimous verdict and the prosecution has opted not to retry him on this charge.
The sentencing
Smith will serve over 19 years in federal prison for the shooting–falling within the federal guidelines. The sentence rendered by U.S. District Judge Philip Halpern on Tuesday April 2 cited the number of shots fired. Despite Smith claiming the weapon discharged accidentally, Assistant U.S. Attorney Shiva H. Logarajah argued that the five shots fired indicate otherwise. Ultimately, Judge Halpern referred to Smith’s actions as “reckless, dangerous and heinous,” and questioned the sincerity of his remorse.
