Florida teen with history of mental illness shot dead popular high school football coach uncle, robbed him of $7K
MIAMI, FLORIDA: A 15-year-old boy was charged with murdering his uncle and stealing $7,500 in cash from him, reports state. Authorities were alerted after neighbors heard three shots coming from the house last week on September 21 in Miami, Florida. When police reached the house, they found 46-year-old Corey Smith, a popular high school football coach, dead in the den.
The teenager, identified as Charles Alexander, who allegedly shot Smith, reportedly confessed the crime to his mother after police officials let him go. Alexander was staying with Smith at the time of the incident and told officers that he was in the bathroom and when he came out, he found that his relative had been shot. The boy, however, instead of calling 911 phoned his mother, who rushed to the house and informed the police.
Authorities reportedly found rolls of banknotes rotating $7,450 in the teenagers' jeans pockets. The pair of jeans was found inside a garbage bag by detectives. Smith's wife, Amina Smith, while talking to officers, said that her husband used to keep a large amount of cash in the bedroom along with his 9mm Beretta, which was used to kill him. Police reportedly said that the teenager had lived at the house before and "was familiar with its layout," according to the Sun.
Alexander's father Lamar Alexander, who died in a shootout in 2019, was Smith's cousin, however, since the two were very close growing up, the teen was considered the PE teacher's nephew, reports state. Surveillance footage checked by detectives showed the teenager was the only other person inside the house at the time of the shooting.
Alexander, after questioning, was permitted to go home, however, nearly two days later, his mother went to the police and said that she was scared for her safety. The mother then revealed that her teen son, who has a history of mental health issues, had confessed to shooting his relative. Within minutes of the revelation, detectives arrested the teen, who has now been charged with second-degree murder and armed grand theft.
The teen's father, Lamar, 41, was one of two armed robbers who had led police on a 35-mile chase in a hijacked UPS van last December. The conclusion of the chase was covered on television as shot nearly 200 bullets at the truck on a busy highway intersection in Miramar, Florida. The robbers were reportedly killed in the encounter along with their hostage, 27-year-old UPS driver Frank Ordonez, and 70-year-old motorist Richard Cutshaw who was passing by.
Smith, according to relatives, had not seen his troubled nephew ever since his father's demise. Amina, while talking to Miami Herald, said: "He asked to come over. We hadn’t seen him since his dad passed. Corey picked him up Sunday night and he spent the night. I left to go to work."
The teen is also facing charges for an alleged bomb threat to a school in 2018. However, he has been declared unfit to stand trial at least four times, a court was told last week during a virtual hearing. An attorney for the teen has requested a psychological evaluation for the boy in the latest incident. A judge is yet to decide whether Alexander will be prosecuted as a juvenile or as an adult before a hearing, scheduled next month.