A Poplar Bluff man pre-empted his upcoming murder trial recently when he withdrew his previous not-guilty plea and pleaded guilty to the Class A felony of second-degree murder and the unclassified felony of armed criminal action.
Kahlil Gregory Smith was to stand trial in Butler County on a change of venue later this month in the 2019 shooting death of Daniel A. Carroll of Thayer, Missouri.
Accompanied by his attorney, Michael Ligons, Smith entered his new plea Tuesday, Sept. 14.
The charges against Smith stemmed from an incident which occurred at a home in Thayer on the night of April 4, 2019.
According to earlier reports, shots rang out on Adams Street in Thayer and a neighbor reported seeing a white SUV leave the residence at a high rate of speed.
A witness identified a Doniphan woman and her boyfriend, later identified as Smith, as having been at the home when the shooting took place.
“The Thayer woman stated that she had been in the bathroom of the residence and heard multiple gunshots,” Thayer Assistant Police Chief Luke Martin previously said. “When she exited the bathroom, she observed Daniel Carroll lying on the ground of her residence with multiple gunshot wounds.”
The woman also reported hearing the SUV leave at a high rate of speed.
A description of the vehicle was sent out and it later was stopped by Ripley County Sheriff’s Department officers near Doniphan.
The woman and Smith were detained and interviewed, and Smith admitted to being at the Thayer residence.
“Smith believed Carroll had been making sexual advances toward (the Doniphan woman), who Smith was in a relationship with,” Martin said. “Smith also stated he had been smoking methamphetamine that evening.”
Based on his suspicion about Carroll, Martin said, Smith retrieved a pistol he brought with him.
“He told me that he blacked out and did not remember shooting Carroll, but later stated he thought he had missed when shooting at Carroll,” Martin said. “Smith said following this incident, he recalled forcing (his girlfriend) to drive him away from the residence.”
Smith’s girlfriend, Martin said, reported seeing “Smith fire a handgun multiple times in the direction she had last seen Daniel Carroll.”
After Smith’s guilty plea, Presiding Circuit Judge Michael Pritchett ordered a sentencing assessment report be filed by Probation and Parole by Nov. 16.
Smith is expected to be sentenced by Pritchett at 1 p.m. Nov. 30, and with his plea agreement, a cap of 20 years applies to each count.