Springfield Police seek fugitive murder suspect

A nationwide arrest warrant has been issued for a Springfield man who police say shot and killed a neighbor this weekend in a dispute over drug activity in their neighborhood.

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http://www.rutlandherald.com/article/20150421/NEWS02/704219889

Springfield Police seek fugitive murder suspect By Susan Smallheer Staff Writer | April 21,2015 SPRINGFIELD — A nationwide arrest warrant has been issued for a Springfield man who police say shot and killed a neighbor this weekend in a dispute over drug activity in their neighborhood. Police said Gregory Allen Smith, 30, who also has a Rockingham address, is on the run and driving a stolen white Buick Rendezvous, believed to have been stolen in Keene, N.H. He is charged with the second-degree murder of Wesley Wing, 37, also of Springfield. Police say that Wing confronted Smith’s girlfriend Wendy Morris Saturday afternoon about drug activity at Birdland, a housing development off South Street where all the streets are named for birds. Wing’s wife, Sheila, told police that her husband had been drinking Saturday and she heard him yell at Morris that he was going to report drug dealers’ license plate numbers at their home on Lark Lane to the police, court records stated. Sheila Wing told police that she and two of her children followed him to Jake’s Market, and watched Morris and another person in a black car follow her husband. She told police she lost sight of her husband and soon after she heard gunshots, and then hid behind senior housing with her children. Wing was shot four times in the chest and went for help to nearby Jake’s Market, where he collapsed on the floor. He died early Sunday morning at Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center after emergency surgery. Springfield Police Chief Douglas Johnston said Monday Vermont State Police and Keene police went to an apartment in Keene early that morning at around 1 a.m. to arrest Smith, but he had already fled. He said Wing and Smith knew each other, but he declined to say what the extend of their relationship was. Johnston said Smith, who has a lengthy criminal record, had left behind his 2011 black Nissan Infiniti, which numerous witnesses placed at the scene of the fatal shooting. Johnson said some of Smith’s convictions were violent in nature. “But not to this extent,” the chief said. According to the affidavit filed in White River Junction criminal court to support the second-degree murder charge, Wing had yelled at Smith’s girlfriend Saturday afternoon, accusing her of being a heroin addict as well as bringing drug dealers into the neighborhood. The girlfriend, Morris, told Smith and another roommate, Marcellus Knight, about the incident, then Smith and Morris went to track down Wing, who was walking from his Cardinal Drive home to Jake’s South Street Market, less than a quarter of a mile away. Several witnesses told police they saw the black Infiniti, and some recognized Smith, driving past Wing several times and later stopping near Wing as he walked back home from the market. Several people reported they heard the sound of gunfire. At that point, the black Infiniti took off southbound at a high rate of speed. At his Cardinal Street home, Smith grabbed a knapsack and left, without saying a word to his 7-year-old daughter, according to the third roommate, Marcellus Knight. The police affidavit included several different versions of events outlined by Morris, who eventually admitted that Smith had a black car and kept it in her garage. Morris let police search her home and a locked safe, and police found ammunition that might match the shell casings found at the scene of the shooting, as well as heroin drug paraphernalia such as hypodermic needles, Baggies and rubber stamps. Police also observed a handgun in Morris’ bedroom and a .40 caliber gun magazine. Reportedly, Smith tried to commit suicide in March 2012 by jumping off the Paddock Road Bridge in Springfield into the Black River. A news report at the time said Smith told Springfield police he had been using cocaine. Smith was born in Springfield and worked at Black River Produce at one time, according to court records. Smith’s criminal record includes numerous arrests for aggravated car theft, as well as arson and escape. He has seven felony convictions, as well as two dozen misdemeanor convictions stretching back to when he was a teenager. His court paperwork contains notations that as a convicted felon, he is “Brady disqualified” and therefore prohibited from possessing firearms. Smith’s father, James Smith, interviewed by police, said he had seen his son with guns. The father gave police his son’s cellphone number, and said the last contact he had with him had been Thursday. His father told police that if he was in trouble, he would stay away from his family. Morris told police Smith had made no effort to contact his young daughter, and she hadn’t had any communication with Smith. Police said cellphone information showed Smith had been in New Hampshire earlier Sunday. His misdemeanor charges range from petty larceny to simple assault on police and corrections officers, disorderly conduct, vandalism, attempting to elude police, operating a vehicle without the owner’s consent, leaving the scene of an accident and giving false information to police. Also, Smith has faced charges in New Hampshire through the years for drug possession, theft, criminal mischief and probation violations. Smith is believed to be driving a white Buick Rendezvous with New Hampshire registration 3364095. The car has two distinctive decals on it, a pink “NY” symbol on the rear window and a “zebra heart” on the left rear passenger side window. Bail has been set at $500,000 cash. The police chief said it is possible that other people, who were involved “maybe before or after the fact” might face criminal charges. Johnston said anyone with information about Smith or his whereabouts should call Springfield Police at 885-2113, or any Vermont State Police barracks, or call 911.