Quentin Smith is an Ohio man serving two consecutive sentences of life without parole for the February 10, 2018 murders of Westerville police officers Anthony Morelli and Eric Joering. A Franklin County jury convicted him on all counts in November 2019, and when jurors could not unanimously agree on the death penalty, Judge Richard A. Frye imposed life without parole plus 26.5 additional years. Smith, now inmate A768037, is held at Lorain Correctional Institution with no parole eligibility date.1Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Correction. Offender Details: Quentin L. Smith (A768037)
What Happened on February 10, 2018
The morning began with a domestic assault. Candace Smith called 911 after her husband, Quentin Lamar Smith, punched and choked her to the point of unconsciousness inside their apartment on Crosswind Drive in Westerville. The call registered as a 911 hang-up, and Officers Anthony Morelli and Eric Joering were dispatched.
Candace Smith answered the door and warned the officers. She later testified that she told them, “He just got done beating me up and he’s got a gun.” As she stepped past them to leave, expecting her husband to be arrested, Quentin Smith reached for two handguns hidden in the cushions of a couch near the front door. Both officers shouted, “Don’t do it, don’t do it,” before Smith opened fire.2NBC4i. More Testimony From Witnesses Expected on Day 3 of Quentin Smith Trial
Officer Joering, a 16-year veteran of the department, was struck in the head and died at the scene. Officer Morelli, a 29-year veteran, was hit in the chest through a gap in his bulletproof vest and died at the hospital later that day. Smith was shot five times in the exchange but survived, and backup officers found him on the floor and took him into custody.3NBC4i. Quentin Smith Trial4WBNS 10TV. Five Years Since Westerville Police Officers Killed in Line of Duty
Why Smith Could Not Legally Own the Gun
Smith was 30 at the time of the shootings and had a criminal history in Cuyahoga County dating back more than a decade. In 2005 he faced assault and domestic violence charges. In 2008 he was charged with aggravated burglary, burglary, and domestic violence; he pleaded guilty to the burglary and domestic violence counts and served three years in prison. That burglary conviction made him a convicted felon prohibited under federal and Ohio law from purchasing or possessing firearms.5The Columbus Dispatch. Aggravated Murder Charges Filed
Police had also been to the Crosswind Drive apartment twice in the months before the shooting: once in September 2017, when Smith’s mother reported the couple was fighting, and again in November 2017, when Candace Smith called police over a dispute. No arrests were made on either visit.6WEAU. Police Had Previously Gone to Home Where Officers Killed
Because Smith could not legally buy a gun, he arranged a straw purchase. In 2017, longtime friend Gerald A. Lawson III bought a Glock semi-automatic handgun from Stonewall Gun Shop and Pistol Range in Broadview Heights. Smith supplied the money and paid Lawson an extra $100 for his help. That Glock was the weapon Smith used to kill Morelli and Joering. Lawson, of Warrensville Heights, was arrested by federal agents days after the shooting, pleaded guilty to aiding and abetting the possession of a firearm by a prohibited person, and was sentenced in October 2018 to five years in federal prison.7U.S. Department of Justice. Northeast Ohio Man Charged With Buying Gun for Convicted Felon Who Killed Westerville Police Officers8The Cincinnati Enquirer. Man Sentenced for Buying Gun Used to Kill Westerville Cops
Charges and the Death Penalty Decision
A Franklin County grand jury indicted Smith on two counts of aggravated murder, along with additional charges. Franklin County Prosecutor Ron O’Brien announced the state would seek the death penalty as a matter of office policy. “Anyone who kills a law-enforcement officer is death-penalty eligible and, at least as long as I’m county prosecutor, that case will be prosecuted as a death-penalty case,” O’Brien said. He added, “I can’t think of a more serious case than the murder of two officers in the line of duty.”9The Columbus Dispatch. Death Penalty Indictment Filed
The Trial
Smith was tried in Franklin County Common Pleas Court before Judge Richard A. Frye in late October and early November 2019. The defense did not contest that Smith killed the officers. Attorney Diane Menashe told the jury, “No question about that, pen to paper that’s what your verdicts read.” Her theory targeted premeditation: “There is no evidence I submit to you that he planned to kill those officers. On Feb. 10, 2018, when that man woke up, there is no evidence to show that he planned to kill officers.”10WOSU Public Media. Quentin Smith Sentenced to Life Without Parole for Westerville Police Killings
Prosecutor James Lowe argued the killings flowed from Smith’s choices, not his diagnoses. “His choice to shoot at officers with his 15-month-old daughter 10 feet away — his choice. His mental health may have placed him at risk, but it didn’t force him to commit these aggravated circumstances,” Lowe told the jury.10WOSU Public Media. Quentin Smith Sentenced to Life Without Parole for Westerville Police Killings
Candace Smith was a key witness. She testified about the assault that morning, about warning the officers that her husband had a gun, and about watching him reach for the weapon in the couch as she stepped outside. She also told jurors that Smith had stopped taking his medications for schizophrenia and PTSD in the period before the shooting.3NBC4i. Quentin Smith Trial
On November 1, 2019, after four hours of deliberation, the jury found Smith guilty on all counts: two counts of aggravated murder, two counts of murder, one count of weapon under disability, and one count of domestic violence.11ABC6. Sentencing Phase of Trial of Quentin Smith Begins Monday
Why He Received Life Instead of Death
The sentencing phase opened on November 4, 2019. The jury’s choice was among death, life without parole, and life with the possibility of parole after 25 or 30 years.
The defense called forensic psychologist Dr. John Fabian, who testified that Smith had a “broken brain.” Fabian diagnosed Smith with post-traumatic stress disorder, bipolar disorder, and borderline personality disorder, and noted a prior diagnosis of schizoaffective disorder. He described Smith’s emotional state as “flat as a stone,” said Smith had been “very suicidal” on multiple occasions, and traced the pattern to an abusive mother and an absent, alcoholic stepfather. On causation, Fabian was careful: “He’s made poor choices, no question. And when the officers walk in the door that night, that gets very complicated as well. But all of these other factors that I don’t think he had choices over placed him at risk to be in that situation and to make poor choices.”3NBC4i. Quentin Smith Trial
Family members of both officers addressed the jury. Jami Joering, Eric Joering’s widow, described the toll on their three daughters: “The girls, to this day, will call his cell phone to hear his voice on the voicemail because that’s the only thing that brings them comfort. They will text him to wish him happy birthday, or simply tell him about their day.”3NBC4i. Quentin Smith Trial
Judge Frye instructed the jurors that “mercy is not a mitigating factor.” The jury could not reach a unanimous agreement to impose the death penalty. Defense attorney Fred Benton later reflected on the weight of that decision: “It is one thing to have a philosophical idea about capital punishment, it is another thing to be able to say you want to personally take responsibility for making such a grave decision.”12CW Columbus. Quentin Smith Sentenced to Life Without Parole for Killing Two Westerville Officers
Because the jury could not unanimously agree on death, Ohio law required Judge Frye to impose a life sentence. He ordered two consecutive terms of life without the possibility of parole, plus 26.5 additional years for the gun specifications and remaining convictions. Smith was admitted to the Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Correction on December 5, 2019.13WBNS 10TV. Quentin Smith Sentenced to Life Without Parole for Killing Westerville Officers
Where the Case Stands Now
Quentin Smith is incarcerated at Lorain Correctional Institution as inmate A768037. His aggregate sentence is life without the possibility of parole, and Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Correction records show no parole eligibility date.1Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Correction. Offender Details: Quentin L. Smith (A768037)