Murder victim's family upset as guilty plea yields 4-8-year sentence. Why it was so short

• Jamie D. Smith Jr., 21, of Erie, pleaded guilty to third-degree murder in the July 2021 shooting death of Kalvin Davis Jr., 18, of Erie
• Smith was sentenced to four to eight years in state prison for the killing, a sentence that drew criticism from Davis' family and concerns from the judge on the case
• The prosecution said the plea agreement was necessary to secure a conviction because of weaknesses with the key witness

Jamie D. Smith Jr., a 21-year-old whom a prosecutor described as once being "the most dangerous person in Erie County," has already been serving 30 to 60 years in state prison for a third-degree murder related to a robbery.

Smith did not get nearly that much time when he was sentenced for another third-degree murder.

He got another four to eight years.

The sentence resulted from what the Erie County District Attorney's Office described as weaknesses with the key witness in the investigation of the second murder, in which the victim was 18-year-old Kalvin Davis Jr. He was shot in the head as he was sleeping in an apartment at West 29th and Cherry streets in Erie at about 3:50 a.m. on July 1, 2021.

Smith was accused of standing outside the duplex and spraying it with bullets with two other gunmen, the prosecution said. A bullet pierced a wall and struck Davis.

Police found more than two dozen shell casings at the scene. Smith was the only person Erie police charged in the case.

Sentencing length was based on plea deal

No matter what the reason behind the four-to-eight year term that Smith got for Davis' death, it created division as Smith was sentenced on Thursday immediately after he pleaded guilty in Erie County Common Pleas Court.

The prosecution and defense jointly recommended the four to eight years as part of a plea deal — a sentence that is a fraction of the maximum sentence of 20 to 40 years that Smith could have received for third-degree murder, an unpremeditated killing with malice.

Victim's family not happy with prison sentence

But Davis' family members and even the judge on the case, David Ridge, said they were not pleased.

"We want the maximum sentence because we have to live without Kalvin forever," Tania Upchurch, the mother of Davis' 4-year-old son, Kalvin Davis III, told Ridge through sobs at the sentencing hearing. "They didn't give us a break."

"I don't understand how drug dealers on the street can get 15 to 20 years, but someone who takes another person's life can get four to eight years," said Kalvin Davis Sr., the father of Kalvin Davis Jr. "That is a very big problem for me."

"I am just asking for fairness," said Tamara Johnson, the mother of Kalvin Davis Jr. "That is all I ask."

She said her son's life is worth more than four to eight years.

"I don't like it," Johnson said.

Ridge said he did not disagree with the comments. He said he accepted the sentencing recommendation of four to eight years because he had told the prosecution and the defense he would agree to it based on the circumstances of the case, including the weaknesses with the evidence.

"I said I did not like it," Ridge said. "I still don't like it. But I gave my word."

Smith's prior murder case played role in latest sentence

In the other third-degree murder case against Smith, Ridge in January gave Smith to 30 to 60 years for the killing and for a first-degree felony count of conspiracy to commit robbery. Smith in that case pleaded no contest to fatally shooting his friend, 30-year-old, Shannon Crosby, during a shootout and robbery over fentanyl at a short-term rental house on McClelland Avenue in Erie in January 2022.

On Thursday, Ridge said he was more open to imposing the sentence of four to eight years knowing that he already given Smith 30 to 60 years, and that the plea deal called for him to make the two sentences consecutive to each other.

With a total sentence of 34 to 68 years, Smith will not be eligible for parole until he is in his mid-50s. If he is denied parole and serves the maximum sentence, he would not leave prison until he is in his late 70s.

"It is in addition to 30 to 60 years," Ridge said of the new term. "So I am going to impose that sentence."

Smith apologizes to Davis' family in court

Ridge on Thursday also sentenced Smith in three other cases — two firearms cases from April 2022 and a case in which Smith was accused of firing a gun as many as 25 times into an occupied house in the 2100 block of Hope Drive, just south of the Bayfront Connector in southeastern Erie, on April 4, 2022. In line with the plea agreement, Ridge made the sentences in those cases concurrent to the four-to-eight-year sentence in the third-degree murder.

Smith said little as he sat at the defense table between his two lawyers: Jason Nard, of Pittsburgh, in the homicide case, and Eric Hackwelder in the other cases.

"I offer my deepest condolences to the family," Smith said. "I am sorry for your loss."

His lawyers said the plea agreement was an appropriate way to end all the cases.

Prosecutor: 'There was not a lot of evidence'

The prosecutor, Chief Deputy District Attorney Jeremy Lightner, said he understood the family's concerns. But he said the plea agreement was necessary to secure a conviction in the killing of Davis.

Lightner said the police investigation uncovered Smith's DNA on a Glock 23 .40-caliber handgun that was used in the shooting, based on shell casings found at the scene.

But Lightner said the key witness in the case — a witness who testified at Smith's preliminary hearing, in December 2022 — backed off initial statements he gave to police that linked Smith to the shooting of Davis. Lightner said the District Attorney's Office risked the strong possibility of an acquittal if the case went to trial.

"There was not a lot of evidence," Lightner said. "The resolution of this case is not about Kalvin Davis. It is about what the commonwealth can prove."

Lightner described Davis as a happy teenager who was not the target of the shooting. He said Smith had "bad blood" with other occupants of Davis' apartment in the duplex, at 559 West 29th St. Lightner described Smith as a menace who left carnage in the community and who was, at the time of the shooting of Davis, "the most dangerous person in Erie County."

"It is my duty to make sure the community is safe from Jamie Smith for as long as possible," Lightner said.

In the end, a killing ends with a conviction

Lightner said Smith's guilty plea to third-degree murder in Davis' death helps ensure that goal regardless of the sentence of four to eight years. Because of the the guilty plea to the second killing, Lightner said, the state Parole Board will be less likely to side with Smith when his case comes up for review once he serve the minimum sentence of 34 years.

"He has to be up for parole as a double murderer," Lightner said.

Ridge agreed.

The judge did not set aside the misgivings about the four-to-eight-year sentence. But he said the main reason he accepted the plea deal was to ensure that Jamie D. Smith Jr. admitted to the murder of Kalvin Davis Jr.

"It was very important to me that Mr. Smith had to say, under oath, 'Yes, I did it. I plead guilty,'" Ridge said. "That is a conviction."

Contact Ed Palattella at epalattella@timesnews.com or 814-870-1813. Follow him on X @ETNpalattella.