WS Chronicle

BY TEVIN STINSON 

THE CHRONICLE 

After undergoing two different surgeries in less than two weeks to remove bullet fragments, Kalvin Michael Smith is at home recovering this week, said his father, Augustus Dark.

On the night of Friday, March 31, Smith was found suffering from a gunshot wound in the 900 block of N. Jackson Avenue. Initially Smith was listed in critical condition but following a pair of surgeries and physical therapy, Smith is at home and can move under his own power.

In November 2016, Smith was released after serving 20 years in prison for the robbery and brutal beating of Jill Marker at the Silk Plant Forest store that left the pregnant woman with severe brain damage and blindness.

Through his incarceration, Smith maintained his innocence and the evidence uncovered over the years proved that.

Although he was set free, Smith’s fight for justice is still ongoing. The motion that freed Smith only addresses the sentencing on the armed robbery charge.

When Smith was visiting family and friends who live in the neighborhood in East Winston-Salem, Dark said, Smith was walking home when someone told him to stop. Smith started to run and that’s when he was shot twice.

After he initially believed his son was targeted, during an interview with The Chronicle last week Dark said now he believes the shooting was random. He noted recently gun violence has become a weekly occurrence in the East Winston neighborhood where his son grew up. The week Smith was shot, four other shootings were reported in the same area, including, one that took the life of Ladawn Morgan, a 19-year old who was shot and killed on Rich Avenue on March 27, less than five miles from where Smith was shot on North Jackson Avenue.

“A lot has changed in that area over the years,” said Dark. “If you look at the reports, there have been several shootings in that area in recent weeks.”

The Winston-Salem Police Department hasn’t made any arrest in the case, but the investigation is ongoing. Attempts to reach District 2 Captain Christopher Lowder were unsuccessful as of Tuesday, April 18.

As for Smith, while he continues to fight to clear his name and educate communities across the state on the unjust justice system, soon he will begin taking classes to become a licensed barber. Although he is still in pain, Dark said he is blessed to see his son at home.

“After all he’s been through, I’m just grateful that my son is still here,”  he said.

Anyone with information on Smith’s shooting or the shooting death of Ladawn Morgan should contact Crime Stoppers at 336-727-2800. Tips may also be submitted by completing a confidential online form on the city’s website.