18-year-old man sentenced to 4 years in prison for 7-Eleven shooting, unprovoked attack of 83-year-old man

An 18-year-old man was sentenced earlier this month to four years in prison for shooting a man outside a downtown Spokane gas station and randomly attacking an 83-year-old man less than three months later downtown.

Richard S. Smith pleaded guilty last month to two counts of second-degree assault for the two attacks. Spokane County Superior Court Judge Annette Plese sentenced Smith October 3.

The shooting happened late at night on Feb. 23 outside the 7-Eleven gas station on Division Street near Second Avenue, according to court documents. Surveillance footage showed three males who appeared to be exchanging items behind the 7-Eleven, police said in documents. Smith tried to leave, and one of the males stepped in front of him and pushed him.

Police described the push as consistent with a forearm block to keep someone back, documents say. Smith pulled out a pistol and fired, striking a man in the left leg and lower abdomen.

Smith fled in a car and police located him hours later on Fifth Avenue near Havana Street, officers said at the time. A short standoff with police, including SWAT team members, ensued before Smith surrendered.

The gunshot victim told police he saw a man he knows as “Rich” or “Richie” at the 7-Eleven who owed him money, according to documents. He confronted Smith about the money, Smith told him he was not going to pay, and then Smith pulled out a gun and shot him, the victim said.

The second attack occurred the afternoon of May 18 when a man was putting his mail into a U.S. Postal Service mailbox on the corner of Third Avenue and Monroe Street, court records say. The man told police he saw a younger man, later identified as Smith, yelling at him.

He said he asked Smith if he was speaking to him and Smith walked up to him and punched him in the face, causing the victim to collapse to the ground in the roadway.

He was unable to recall much more about the assault, but was told by a witness that Smith and two others started kicking him in the ribs while he was on the ground, the victim told police. The man was taken to Providence Sacred Heart Medical Center by ambulance and learned he had a broken wrist, nose and ribs.

Smith fled the area before officers arrived, and he was arrested 12 days later in downtown Spokane, police said.

Smith, who had no prior felonies, will serve 18 months of probation after he’s released from prison.