Man who randomly killed 3 on Detroit streets pleads guilty but mentally ill

DETROIT—A man who randomly killed three people on Detroit streets, leaving victims at a bus stop and in the doorway of a church, pleaded guilty but mentally ill Wednesday in a deal that carries a minimum sentence of 30 years in prison.

The shootings occurred on a Sunday morning in August 2022. The police chief at the time said the gunman had “terrorized our community.”

Dontae Smith, now 21, pleaded guilty but mentally ill to second-degree murder, attempted murder and other charges. He had been charged with first-degree murder, which would have carried a life sentence in the event of a conviction.

“He is stable now. He is competent,” defense attorney Maria Mannarino said. “But at the time he was in the throes of a paranoid schizophrenic episode. He thought these people he was encountering on the street were out to do him harm. Very sad, tragic all around.”

Smith will be eligible for parole after 30 years, Mannarino said.

The shootings happened over roughly two hours, though no one called 911 until the second victim was discovered, police said. Two women and a man were killed and a fourth person was wounded, along with a dog.

Smith fled when an armed bystander saw the last shooting and fired at him, witnesses said.