Accused killer back Dane Co. court; faces 6 cases in next 2 weeks

MADISON, Wis. (WMTV) -- The man accused of killing his stepbrother in November 2022 returned to a Dane Co. courtroom Wednesday for an arraignment that saw a handful of new felonies levied against him. Edward I. Smith already faced a first-degree homicide charge going into the day. In court, four felony bail jumping charges as well as possession of a firearm by convicted felon were added.

Smith is accused of killing Shantarie Riley in a Nov. 22 shooting in the 100 block of E. Lakeside St. Smith stood mute during his late morning hearing while Dane Co. Judge David Conway entered a not guilty plea on his behalf. Conway then set a status conference hearing for February 13, for the same time as status conference hearings in two other cases. Those other cases include eight felonies, including physical abuse of an elder person, intimidating a witness, fleeing and eluding an officer, and five bail jumping counts.

Five days before that court date, Smith has a scheduling conference set before another Dane Co. judge, Ellen Berz, for a trio of cases, that themselves cover nine felonies. Two of them were for allegedly possessing cocaine. There is also one each of fleeing an officer in a vehicle, and possession of a firearm by a convicted felon, on top of four felony bail jumping counts.

All charges, except for one of the cocaine possession counts, came within the past 13 months.  In total, Smith’s court appearances this month will encompass 23 felonies, along with three misdemeanors.

Lakeside St. homicide

In the criminal complaint alleging Smith killed his stepbrother, prosecutors recounted that Madison Police Department officers were called around 1:15 p.m. to the shooting on Nov. 22 on the 100 block of E. Lakeside Street. Madison Fire Department personnel provided first aid to the victim before he was taken to a hospital, where he later died. A detective reported finding several cartridge casings on the ground that were collected as evidence, as well as three cell phones. One of the phones was later found to be Smith’s, the complaint stated.

The seven-page complaint recalled that a witness told officers that he saw the suspect and victim fighting. The witness described that the victim stood over the suspect and punched him in the face. He then helped the him to his feet and opened the front passenger side door to the SUV to try to help the suspect into the vehicle.

The complaint said the witness then heard two to three gunshots fired in the area and saw the suspect walk away from the SUV while holding a small semiautomatic handgun. The suspect then allegedly fired three additional rounds as he walked east. The witness said he saw Smith fire more shots before running to warn people about the shooting. When the witness returned, the vehicle was gone and he saw the victim on the ground. The witness said someone else called 911.

Another detective was able to access City of Madison traffic cameras to search for the suspect vehicle, which they found video it before and after the shooting.

Police later found the car believed to be Smith’s at Target on the 200 block of Junction Road, with one detective noting a fired cartridge casing on the front driver seat. A search was conducted on the car on Dec. 2, which revealed three fired shell casings that matched the stamp and caliber from the crime scene.

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