Tampa teen convicted of attempted murder, faces decades in prison for game room shooting

TAMPA, Fla. - A teenager has been found guilty of attempted second-degree murder in a shooting inside a game room at a Tampa apartment complex.

Deondre Smith, 16, was arrested in connection with a shooting in June 2023 at the West River Boulevard apartment complex.

Investigators say several teenagers were in the game room at the complex when another group of teens came in.

A surveillance camera inside the game room shows two of the teens in the first group pull out guns and start shooting.

State Attorney Suzy Lopez says Jason Newson, 20, was the first person in the video seen firing one shot.

Lopez says Deondre Smith, 16, was the second person in the video seen firing a gun.

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"Mr. Smith, in a court hearing with his attorney, said he did not know who was going to be coming through that door," Lopez said. "He just shot, and he shot seven times and hit two people."

Lopez says the victims had non-life threatening injuries.

The incident is part of a pattern of shootings involving teenagers. Law enforcement officers are trying to break that pattern and send a message to teens.

"Just because you're young, you will not get a free pass in Hillsborough County," Lopez said.

In this case, Lopez says both suspects had prior criminal records.

"If a young person goes and steals a bike or goes into a gas station convenience store and steals a candy bar, that's okay for a diversion program," Lopez said. "But diversion programs aren't made for these adult choices that kids are making with firearms."

The 13th Judicial Circuit recently expanded its gun violence unit. Lopez says the unit was formed as a two-person operation, but has been expanded to a team of nine, including attorneys, support staff and an investigator.

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"Prosecuting a gun violence case is not like prosecuting a burglary of a dwelling or burglary of a home," Lopez said. "And so, we have specialized prosecutors."

Lopez says teens who are convicted of adult-level crimes will pay adult prices.

"Those are some of the toughest decisions that we make in this office," Lopez said. "But we need to keep our community safe."

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Smith could face a mandatory minimum sentence of 25 years in prison if he’s sentenced as an adult.

The State Attorney says Newson accepted a plea deal and is also spending time behind bars.

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