#6- Campus crime

According to Southern Arkansas University, four people have been arrested in connection to the death of a student.

The university says Odies Wilson of North Little Rock, Le’Kamerin (Kam) Tolbert of Little Rock, Quincy Isaiah Lewis of Little Rock, Arkansas, and Shaivonn (Shakey) Robinson of Vacherie, Louisiana, were arrested early August 14 and charged with capital murder for the shooting death of Joshua Keshun Smith.

Smith was killed early Tuesday morning, August 11, in the Donald W. Reynolds Campus and Community Center parking lot of Southern Arkansas University.  

The university says additional charges may be filed and the investigation is still on-going.

SAU President Dr. Trey Berry said in a statement, “We are grateful for the great work of the SAU Police Department, the Magnolia Police Department, Columbia County Sheriff’s Department, the Arkansas State Police, and U. S. Marshalls.  

They're persistence on this case brings a grieving family one step closer to resolve and allows our community to rest easier knowing that the suspects in this case have been identified.”

Odies Wilson 

Quincy Isiah Lewis, one of the four men charged with the shooting death of Joshua Keshun Smith on the Southern Arkansas University campus on August 11, 2020, pleaded guilty Thursday of murder and battery in the first degree.

He received a total prison sentence of 55 years.

To Smith’s mother, Theresa Ngantchie, he said, “I know I can’t bring your son back and I am truly sorry for the part I played, and I hope you can forgive me.”

“I appreciate your comments,” Talley said. “There is no reason to believe they are not sincere.”

Because the charges were originally capital murder, Lewis and others charged with this crime were required to have two lawyers to represent them. And despite the charges being downgraded to murder, Lewis still had representation of Jeff Harrelson and John Pickett, both of Texarkana.

Last month, Odies Wilson IV of Little Rock, pleaded guilty of the murder of Smith and received 60 years in prison. He was the first to be sentenced.

The shooting, described in an August 16, 2020, affidavit as a drug deal gone wrong, happened in the early morning hours of Tuesday, August 11, 2020.

Smith, 21, a senior engineering physics major from Sparkman, was killed and another SAU student, Lucas Sharp, was shot and injured. Sharp was in the passenger seat with Smith, the affidavit reads. The drug in the affidavit was described as marijuana.