BLOOMFIELD, Conn. — A Windsor man has been sentenced to 70 years in prison for a fatal double shooting in Bloomfield in 2020, officials said.
Russell Smith, 49, was sentenced to 50 years for the fatal shooting of 42-year-old Franklin Spencer; in a separate hearing, sentenced to 20 years in connection to the death of Aaron Walker, 43, from East Hartford. The two men killed were brothers.
The shooting happened on Feb. 22, 2020, in the parking lot of Elizabeth's Bar and Restaurant. Officials said the shooting happened in the early morning hours after the brothers got into a fight inside the restaurant, which spilled out into the parking lot where the shooting took place. When officers got to the scene, they found Walker and Spencer on the ground outside of the restaurant, with Smith nowhere to be found.
Smith later surrendered to Bloomfield police after a five-and-a-half-month search that included the U.S. Marshals Violent Fugitive Task Force.
According to officials, Shakela Holley provided financial assistance to Smith while he was on the run. According to court records from July 2020, she was charged with four counts of second-degree hindering a prosecution, which she pled guilty to.
Smith was found guilty of Spencer's death in August, and during his sentencing hearing on Thursday, he also pled guilty to first-degree manslaughter of Walker.
The case was prosecuted by Assistant State’s Attorney Samantha Magnani and Executive Assistant State’s Attorney Brett J. Salafia, with the assistance of Inspector Robert Nesci, Paralegal Specialists Lakisha Malave and Antoine Campbell, and Certified Legal Intern Julia Lucas.
State’s Attorney for the Judicial District of Hartford Sharmese Walcott, said that the team worked "tirelessly" on this case.
"To the mother of the victims, who lost two songs in one night, I hope this sentencing provides closure to this chapter in her time of grief. This case highlights that personal disputes are never worked the catastrophes caused by death," Walcott said.
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Jennifer Glatz is a digital content producer at FOX61 News. She can be reached at jglatz@fox61.com.
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