MIAMI-DADE COUNTY, Fla. – A 17-year-old girl and a 19-year-old man are facing second-degree murder charges after deputies say they were involved in the February shooting death of the girl’s own brother in the unincorporated Naranja area.
Miami-Dade deputies arrested Elton Hightower, 19, of Florida City, and Deashia Smith, 17, of southwest Miami-Dade, on Wednesday. Smith was already in custody at the Turner Guilford Knight Correctional Center following a March arrest for being a felon in possession of a firearm.
Smith and Hightower are accused of killing 20-year-old Raequan Smith, who deputies confirmed is Deashia’s brother. Investigators said the firearm found in Deashia’s possession on March 10 was forensically linked to her brother’s murder.
The fatal shooting occurred on February 7. Around 11:55 p.m., Miami-Dade deputies responded to the 13800 block of Southwest 266th Street after a ShotSpotter alert detected 39 gunshots in the area. Upon arrival, they found multiple bullet casings scattered across the block.
Shortly afterward, staff at HCA Florida’s emergency room in Cutler Bay alerted deputies that two men had dropped off a man—later identified as Raequan Smith—suffering from multiple gunshot wounds. He died approximately 45 minutes after the attack.
On April 23, a witness came forward and identified Deashia Smith and Elton Hightower as the shooters.
“(Redacted) saw the victim standing on the side of the street and (Smith and Hightower) discharged their firearms towards the victim, then fled the scene,” the arrest report states.
Cellphone data also placed Hightower at the scene of the shooting.
Authorities took Hightower into custody at the Richard E. Gerstein Justice Building and transported him to the MDSO Homicide Bureau in Doral, where he denied involvement.
Meanwhile, detectives said Deashia Smith admitted to her mother that she was in the “homicide vehicle” with Hightower and two others. According to the report, she told her mother they were planning to “do a drill” on someone named Rashad.
Both suspects remain in custody at Turner Guilford Knight Correctional Center as the investigation continues.
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