DAILY LOCAL NEWS
SEPTEMBER 5, 2013
MICHAEL P. RELLAHAN
WEST CHESTER – A conflicted family sat in Senior Judge Thomas Gavin’s courtroom Wednesday and watched as Derek Jordan Smith – son, grandson, nephew, brother and cousin to those in attendance – pleaded guilty to killing his father. “The family is divided,” Deputy District Attorney Michelle Frei told Gavin as he considered whether to accept a proposed guilty plea agreement in the case stemming from 51-year-old Stephen Washington’s 2012 homicide. The sentenced negotiated by Frei and defense attorney Christian Hoey of Paoli called for Smith to be imprisoned for 15-to-30 years for third-degree murder, followed by five years of court supervision. He is 27 years old. “Some of the family members believe the sentence is too harsh,” Frei said. “Some believe it is too lenient.” The family members did not all sit together in the courtroom, showing their division over the plea and sentence in a physical way. Frei drew Gavin’s attention to Linda Washington, the victim’s elderly mother, who was seated at a prosecution table to hear the discussion. “This is one of the saddest days of her life,” Frei said. “But she is hopeful that there can be some peace in the family.” Ultimately, Gavin accepted the plea agreement and sentenced Smith – a man with a history of mental illness who had no previous criminal record – to its terms. “If I could go back in time, I would start all over,” Smith said when asked by Gavin whether he wished to make a statement. “That is all I have to say.” Smith admitted that on President’s Day last year, Feb. 20, 2012, he had pointed a .38 caliber Smith & Wesson handgun at his father, Washington, and fired it twice as the father stood up from a couch. Washington was struck by both bullets, one in the torso, the other in the head, and died on the living room floor. Caln police, called to the Washington home on Seltzer Avenue, found Smith standing in the backyard around 6:50 p.m. Asked where the gun was, he pointed to a concrete fireplace. At the Caln police station, Frei said, Smith waived his Miranda rights and spoke with Chester County Detective Gerald Davis and Caln Officer Joseph Carboni. He told them that although he had shot his father, he had not meant to kill him. Smith told the officers that although he and his father had been getting along that day – Frei said there was a history of conflict between the two – at some point he began thinking about the state of his life and, fueled by a 24-ounce can of beer he drank, got “pumped up” about his father. He retrieved the gun from his bedroom, loaded it, put it in his pocket, and walked downstairs to where his father and mother were sitting in the living room, and fired the fatal shots. Hoey told Gavin that during the 18 months his client had spent in county prison after his arrest, he had arranged for him to be examined by a psychiatrist to determine whether there was the possibility of a mental health defense. He decided there was not. Smith, asked by Gavin if he was on any medication on Wednesday, said he was taking anti-depressants prescribed for him by the prison, but that he could understand what the impact of his guilty plea would be. Frei presented letters from two of Stephen Washington’s children – his oldest son, Stephen Smith, and eldest daughter, Latoya Smith – about their memories of their father and the way his death affected them. Stephen Smith, who was in Gavin’s courtroom but who asked Frei to read his letter for him, addressed his comment directly to his deceased father. “You were the person I could turn to for anything,” he wrote. “I know you will not get this letter, but I pray you know how much I love you and still do love you. I know I will see you again sometime in heaven.” The victim’s daughter in her letter, which Frei also read, spoke of difficulties and worries that her father had before his death, but also of his commitment to his family. “ He wanted his family to understand what he was going through,” she wrote. “There was nothing he would not do for his family if he could. I love my father with all my heart and appreciate the little things he did for me.” Gavin accepted the plea without any substantive comment, except to say that he believed that Smith knew what he was doing.
MRELLAHAN@DAILYLOCAL.COM
© 2013 DAILY LOCAL NEWS SERVING CHESTER COUNTY, PA