Not Skip to My Lou’s son?
This is a sad story, but not an uncommon one. According to the report, Rafer Alston’s son got caught up in the gang life and ended up tripping himself up via text message confession.
Here is how the murder allegedly went down.
Leonard Smith, one of 42 suspects arrested in “Operation No Fly Zone,” was part of Advance Peace, a non-profit organization that works to reduce gun violence and promote “community healing,” according to court documents from Fresno County.
The arrest happened as part of the “No Fly Zone” operation by Fresno Police where over 40 people were arrested including Leonard Smith, 43.
The Fresno County District Attorney’s Office confirmed that Smith has a criminal history including an arrest back in 1997 for attempted murder. Documents show that Smith was convicted in 1998 and was sentenced to prison. Sources said Smith spent over 20 years behind bars, was released, and was on parole when he was arrested for the new charges in 2022.
Those documents say that Smith “who did unlawfully, and with malice aforethought conspire to murder rival gang members.” According to the criminal complaints, on February 14 Matthew Townsend was shot and injured on the 300 block of E. Jensen.
That same day, documents allege that gang member Rafer Alston Jr. texted Smith about the shooting and that Smith told Alston Jr. to delete the text messages. On February 26, documents allege that Alston Jr. called Smith to tell him he was going to murder an informant.
On March 9, documents said 28-year-old Javonte Askew was killed after he was shot 18 times on the 2600 block of East Holland while taking out the trash. The criminal complaint claims that on March 11, after Smith learned Alston Jr. was a suspect, Smith told Alston Jr. to leave town and that Smith would keep law enforcement away.
The complaint states that the next day Smith asked Alston Jr. for a gun so he could attack a person that was giving him problems. On the 20th, documents claim Smith told Alston of Smith’s plan to kill a rival gang member.
It looks like Alston’s Jr is going to spend a lot of time in jail.
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