DNA and mobile phone data led to arrest in Hamden teenager’s murder
NEW HAVEN – Police used DNA evidence and cellphone data to bring charges against Lamont Quadir Smith-Reed for killing Hamden teenager Semaj Reddick-Streater last spring, according to an arrest warrant affidavit .
Wearing a bright yellow jumpsuit and his hands cuffed behind his back, Smith-Reed, 19, appeared briefly in New Haven Superior Court on Wednesday following his May 19 arrest. He faces one count of murder and one count of conspiracy to commit murder.
Family and friends of Reddick-Streater watched from the gallery as marshals escorted Smith-Reed to stand before Judge Gerald Harmon.
His appearance lasted less than five minutes. After Smith-Reed requested an additional month to hire a private attorney, Harmon set his next court date for July 13.
It had been almost a year since Reddick-Streater’s death.
According to Smith-Reed’s arrest warrant affidavit, Reddick-Streater was leaving the Minute Mart on Circular Avenue in Hamden just before 9 p.m. on May 30, 2021, when gunfire erupted from the rear passenger side of a Jeep. Big silver Cherokee.
A bullet hit the teenager in the left shoulder blade, according to the affidavit, and he was pronounced dead at Yale New Haven Hospital just over half an hour after the shooting was reported.
The Jeep allegedly involved in the shooting was reportedly stolen from Norwalk on the day of the murder, according to the affidavit, which says police recovered the vehicle the following morning. Hidden inside the rear passenger-side door was a partially smoked cannabis cigar that later tested positive for Smith-Reed DNA, the affidavit states.
Meanwhile, a confidential informant told investigators that three people were in the car when Reddick-Streater was shot, including Smith-Reed and two teenagers then aged 14 and 16, the affidavit states.
Based on cellular data, police believe the two young teenagers got the Jeep in Norwalk around 6:30 p.m. on May 30 and drove to the Westville neighborhood of New Haven in about 18 minutes, according to the affidavit, which says that he attempted to interrogate the teenagers. have failed.
Smith-Reed’s cell phone connected to the Jeep’s Bluetooth system shortly before 8 p.m., according to the affidavit, and cellular data places the three teenagers near the Minute Mart at the time of the murder.
The warrant shows how interviews with police helped identify Smith-Reed as a suspect.
According to the affidavit, two people reported Smith-Reed carrying a gun with a green laser sight; When police viewed surveillance footage from the Minute Mart, they saw “a green laser beam emanating from the open passenger-side rear window accompanied by gunfire.”
A witness also identified Smith-Reed as the shooter, he said.
The warrant does not describe the alleged motive for the murder, but suggests that Reddick-Streater was targeted. Surveillance footage shows the Jeep followed him for several blocks until he arrived at the Minute Mart, according to the affidavit.
Reddick-Streater was 18 when he died. He was a new father delighted to have graduated from high school. Beloved by his family and friends, he was remembered for his contagious smile and willingness to help others.
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